Wings and Wanderers
by Starfire23
Summary: This is the story of Kara O'Neal, a girl from our world who was dropped into Middle Earth, discovered she'd been given a few powers, and invited to join an epic quest by a wizard. Sass and sarcasm and a dash of pure crazy, but we wouldn't have her any other way.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I realize there are a lot of other fanfictions out there like mine, but I was bored one day and figured I'd take a crack at writing a fanfic. I've loved reading them for years, and once I got started, it just seemed to flow. I hope you enjoy. This one is based mostly on the movies.

I am not a great writer, nor am I a scholar, but as I find myself looking back over my recent adventures, I feel the need to write them down, if only so I can sort them out in my own mind. To start off with a proper introduction, my name is Kara O'Neal. I'm 5'4", with a willowy build, bright blonde hair, and blue eyes. I was born in a little town in Oregon. My life was rather boring, to be perfectly honest, but it was all right and I never aspired to more. I was the youngest of three children and the only one who seemed to lack ambition. My oldest sister was a doctor and my brother was a fitness enthusiast who owned a string of gyms and enjoyed climbing mountains when he could spare the time. I was ten years younger than my brother and fifteen years younger than my sister and completely uninterested in following in either of their footsteps. My parents tried everything, even apprenticing me to my sister. I lasted three months before I gave up in disgust. I just couldn't handle the stress. Well, I must be honest with myself. I couldn't handle my sister constantly hovering over me and judging everything that I did.

My parents let me do my own thing for awhile after that. I went back to college and really enjoyed the learning experience. Sadly, my parents didn't agree that a degree in general studies was a good thing to have, especially with my emphasis on drama, dancing, and art. I even took a few cooking classes for fun. They talked me into working for my brother during the summers, probably hoping it'd give me ideas. Unfortunately, I have no interest in being a personal trainer. It seemed to me that half the people I trained knew more than me and the other half wanted a miracle weight loss program. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy exercising, but helping other people exercise is not my forte.

My brother was an OK boss, but we really just never learned to talk to each other, I guess. He had his own life long before I came along and wasn't really interested in making me part of it. My sister and I never really bonded either. She had graduated and moved out before I was four, so I didn't even really notice I had a sister except at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and even then she missed half of them. My parents tried to bring us all together at least twice a year, but I always got the feeling it was more for the show of it than anything else. They were very big on appearances. I think that's why they tried so hard to get me to find a promising career. They could show off their two eldest, but whenever anyone asked what I was doing, they'd say, "Oh, you know Kara. She's always the dreamer." I didn't realize until I was fourteen that that was an insult.

As I write, I find myself getting hot under the collar. It seems like it was just yesterday, but at the same time it feels like a dream that happened to someone else. So much has happened since then, and yet their indifference to me as a person still stings.

Anyway, by the time I was twenty-two, they had all but given up on me. I had a job as a waitress to pay the bills and, admittedly, to irritate my parents. I went out on my days off with my friends from college, though many of them had moved away and the ones that were left were all moving on. It gets harder to talk to people once they get married, and it's even worse when they have kids. They all want to compare their kids' accomplishments or how hard their labors were. I have to say, hearing how young Timmy had grown three pounds heavier than his last doctor visit or how Laura had just had the worst delivery because she went into labor early and was too far away to get to her regular doctor, really just gets old after awhile. Especially when they notice me and then all get this knowing, superior look and say things like, "You'll understand when it happens to you" followed by, "So, are you dating anyone?"

I really hated that question. I had never dated anyone that lasted longer than two dates. By the end of the second date, they had all shown me so many problems that I couldn't get rid of them fast enough. The one that takes the cake was the guy that was living in his parents' basement, asked to move in on the second date, and made me pay for both of them. The first date I believed him when he said he'd forgotten his wallet. The second date, which I only took because my roommate in college talked me into it, almost had me prying the guy off with a crowbar he got that clingy. I guess he'd never had a second date. Big surprise there.

Anyway, I was just coasting though life enjoying not deciding what I wanted to be and slowly turning into a hermit.

Then everything changed.

I just remember waking up feeling like I got hit by a bus. As my memory returned, I realized this was because I had in fact been hit by a bus. I was on my way home from work and crossing the last street before my apartment when a bus came careening around the corner and knocked me out. As conscious thought returned, so did my awareness of my surroundings. I realized I was lying on the ground and staring into the concerned blue eyes of the strangest man I'd ever seen. He must have been on his way to a convention or something, because he was wearing a tall pointed hat, gray robes, and a long white beard. I decided he must be the most authentic looking guy there and should probably get a prize for best Merlin impersonation. Then I looked around. He was standing in front of a large green round door, and that door appeared to be stuck in the side of a hill. It even had windows. At that point I decided I must be on the best meds ever or in a coma dreaming a very lifelike dream, because obviously the bus must have done some crazy damage to have me in a setting like this one.

I was snapped out of my observations on the state of my mind by a gruff old voice. "Are you alright?" isn't the most imaginative of questions, but I had to give the old guy points for trying. I smiled my brightest smile at him and replied, "Just peachy, old chap. Just enjoying the glorious day. Must have dozed off. Don't worry about me, I'll finish waking up and get my bearings in a minute. Have a nice day!" Rather than believing my attempts to get rid of him, the concerned line between his eyes got deeper. He stood up and looked at the door, then muttered something that sounded like, "No help for it" and went and pounded on the door. After a few minutes of this an even odder looking fellow opened the door. Hew must have been no taller than a child, but he was obviously early middle aged and he had the hairiest feet I had ever seen. Honestly, if my feet grew a pelt like that, I'd never let them out of shoes.

Merlin had a hushed conversation with him, which involved much gesticulating my way and talking by the old guy. Whatever he said must have worked, because the short guy came over with him and stood looking down at me. "Can you stand?" he asked. I hadn't really thought about it, but once he pointed it out, I realized I did want to stand up. I also wanted to walk away quickly, but one thing at a time. They each got a hand under one of my arms and lifted and I popped up with very little resistance. It's amazing what the mind can accomplish. I discovered very rapidly that my brain wasn't cooperating with actually walking, though, and almost wound up on my face when I tried moving forward and my feet stayed where they were. I must say, it's a little humiliating to be held up by an old man and a midget while you can't even stand on your own.

They got me inside and sat me down in what turned out to be a quite comfy chair, considering it was a bit too small for me. They had yet another conversation I wasn't privy to, then the old guy sat down in a chair across from me while the small man went to get me some tea or something. I noticed that the old guy fit his chair even worse than I did and wondered at my obviously way too developed imagination. I could tell he was working up to give me some portentous speech and ask who I was and where I came from, along with probably a bunch more boring questions, so I started things off myself.

"Hi! I'm Kara Smith (no way was I giving this guy my real last name). I'm from Portland currently. I have no idea how I got here, but my best guess is coma or hallucination. And you are?" My best customer service voice seemed to throw him off, but he blinked for a few seconds before he seemed to catch up. "Ah." He said. Then he cleared his throat and added, "My name is Gandalf. Gandalf the Grey. I myself am not sure how you got here, but the Valar must have had something to do with it. The question is, why do they want you in Middle Earth, especially here at this time?" He started staring at me and brooding, so I thought it would be best to head him off before I wasted too much of this admittedly awesome dream. I figured since my dream seemed to want to focus on him for the moment, I'd keep him talking. "So, do many people use their favorite colors as titles here? And if I'm not supposed to be in Middle Earth, which earth should I be in? Also, if these valor people brought me here, which hospital do they work at and what drugs are they using? Because they've got to be illegal. Drugs this hallucinogenic can't be good for you."

I enjoyed the annoyed look that briefly flashed across his face very much. The guy was way too stuffy and serious. He kind of reminded me of my father, with his air of everyone's business is my business and I'm in charge. I couldn't really dislike him, though, because he also seemed to genuinely care about those around him. He puffed up a little bit and responded, "Wizards of my order take colors as their individual designations. Middle Earth is the mortal realm, separate from the heavens, and I think you are supposed to be here. The Valar are gods, child, and the only way you could have gotten here is if they put you here. I don't know what a hospital is, but I can assure you you haven't been drugged in any way. I can't begin to imagine what their purpose is in bringing you here, but I can tell that you are from another universe and that they touched you in some way." He must have noticed the questions about to bubble out of my mouth, because he finished with, "I can discern no more than that at this time, and I really must be going. I have a few errands to run and friends to meet. I will be back this evening. I can assure you we will talk more then."

With that, the old codger got up and swiftly left the room, leaving me sitting there a bit taken aback and the poor small man bewildered clutching a tray while watching him stride out the door. I felt kind of bad for the small guy. He looked almost as turned around as me. I cleared my throat and felt a bit guilty as he jumped about a foot and looked hunted.

"Hi" I toned down my smile to one you might give a child that looked lost, which felt kind of appropriate considering his size and general expression. "My name is Kara and I've apparently been dumped in your world on your doorstep. Sorry about the inconvenience." He seemed to gather himself and his manners together and brought in the tea tray and set it on a little table next to me. "My name is Bilbo Baggins. Welcome to my home and please forgive my rudeness in not introducing myself sooner." We got to talking and I discovered he was quite a nice guy under all his pomp and manners. He even offered me a dress that used to be his mother's. Luckily, between the fact that while I was taller than she was I was quite a bit more slender and some creative adjustments I was able to make it fit. I appreciated it because while my jeans, t-shirt and coat were comfortable, they were also quite dirty from lying in the road earlier. We must have talked for half an hour while he showed me how to do laundry before he asked if I knew where Gandalf went. "I'm not sure where he went," I said, "but he seemed to be in a hurry to run some errands and talk to some friends, but he said he'd be back tonight."

Bilbo thought about this for a minute and than got the most peculiar look on his face. "Tell me," he said, "do you think Gandalf and his friends might be here for dinner?" I said it wouldn't surprise me if Gandalf was back just in time for dinner and brought his friends with him. Bilbo seemed really upset by this and headed for the kitchen, where he started banging pots and pans. When I followed him I heard him muttering about being a proper host and "confound that wizard!" It seems being a good host is very important to hobbits, which is what my host called himself. I pitched in with cooking and preparing and we got into such an animated discussion of the various races, their histories as far as he knew them, and the various intricacies of hobbit culture that we prepared way more than we meant to. We'd kind of gotten into a competition as to who could make the widest variety of dishes and had a little too much fun. He beat the pants off me, but I was able to surprise him with new uses for old spices and the recipes for a few pasta dishes. He'd never heard of noodles, which I thought was a tragedy. We were having a great time laughing and washing the last few dishes when we heard a knock at the door.

Bilbo left to answer it, and I finished drying the last pot when I heard what had to be one of the rudest people ever push past Bilbo and demand dinner. Bilbo just kind of sputtered, but I wasn't about to let anyone abuse my new friend. I came stomping into the hall and came face to face with the fiercest looking man I'd ever laid eyes on. He raised a bushy eyebrow at me and then deliberately ignored me while he again demanded food of Bilbo. Admittedly I may have overreacted a bit, but I consider home invasion justifies self defense, and the guy was wearing armor and all sorts of weapons. I hit him over the back of the head as hard as I could with the pot I was holding. He went down like a deflated balloon, and I saw Bilbo's horrified expression. "What?" I asked defensively. "He stomped into your house and threatened you to get food." Bilbo's expression didn't change much, but he did help me truss the guy up like a sheep. It's amazing what you can learn from television. We put his arms behind his back, tied his ankles together, and then tied his arms to his ankles. We probably used enough rope to scale a cliff, but I wasn't taking any chances. I started taking all the obvious weapons off him, though I had to hurry because he seemed close to waking up.

I had just managed to drag the ax into the next room when another knock came. Bilbo and I looked at each other and then ran for the door. He was going to open it before I talked him. "Are you crazy?" I hissed. "It might be another home invader." Bilbo paused for a minute and then nodded. He latched the door, which made me shake my head. These hobbits must not worry about robbers much, because that had to be the most pathetic latch I'd ever seen. Where's a stout iron bar when you need one? The knock came again, and I motioned toward the little round window that was nearby. We both craned our necks trying to see who was banging on the door more insistently now, when suddenly my view was full of white hair. I blinked and it resolved into a face surrounded by a truly stupendous white beard. It looked questioningly at us and seemed nice enough, so I opened the window just a crack.

"Excuse me," he said. "Isn't this the meeting place? I saw the mark on the door and was sure there couldn't be two like it very close together, but if there is another burglar around here, could you direct me to his door please?" Poor Bilbo started spluttering at "mark" and just got worse with every word the old guy said. I could tell he wasn't going to be much help, and I was beginning to be suspicious of the old guy's motives when I remembered Gandalf. "Pardon me," I said with utmost politeness, "but you wouldn't happen to have been sent here by an old gray wizard, would you?" He immediately smiled and nodded, at which point I banged my head on the window frame lightly and said, "There wouldn't be more of you would, there?" "Oh, aye," he replied. "Thirteen of us dwarves altogether." Suddenly Bilbo started pulling at my sleeve. He looked terrified and seemed to have his eyes fixed on something behind my left shoulder. "Let me guess. Our home invader has woken up and gotten loose and is about to attempt to kill me?" Bilbo nodded terrified.

I put on my best waitress smile, the one that says, "We're sorry your food seems poisoned to you, but we will do our best to fix it. Have a nice day." Then I turned around and saw a very irate dwarf (for how could he be anything else) with a very red face and a good sized knot on the back of his head holding an ax in one hand and looking plenty ready to use it. Luckily for us, the dwarf behind me said, "Brother, what happened to you?" The murderous dwarf in front of me suddenly looked rather abashed and a bit shifty, so I thought I'd chime in with my side of the story before he exaggerated my vicious assault.

"He came barging into Bilbo's house as soon as the door was open, demanding food and being very threatening, so I hit him on the head with the pot I was holding and tied him up. I must have missed a knife or something, though. I thought I had him well trussed up." I figured at this point the dwarf outside was a lot less dangerous than the dwarf inside, so I opened the door for him, only to find two young men convulsed with laughter next to the old one. They all got up and introduced themselves, the old one adding that head-bashed was his brother Dwalin. The two younger then came in and started dumping weapons on Bilbo and ignoring him when he asked them to be careful of his things. I blew my stack. I didn't know what got into me, but my temper was out of control. Usually I could control my temper and just put on a customer service smile, but seeing my new friend ignored and disrespected like that in his own home infuriated me. I started yelling at the top of my lungs, gave all four of them a blistering lecture with fingers shaken under noses and a not very complimentary description of their probable upbringings, then started bossing them around to help me move furniture and clear the entrance way.

Judging from the looks of bewilderment and the fact that they actually obeyed me, I must have thrown them so far off balance they'd be stumbling for a week. They even sat politely at the table when we had it all set up. The youngest one, I think his name was Kili, looked a little forlorn, so I told them we'd have dinner out when everyone else got there. He looked much more cheerful, which was good because just then the door sounded again. I figured it would be best if I headed everyone off at the pass, so I had Bilbo go check on the food while I answered the door. A whole bunch of dwarves fell at my feet and one pointy hatted wizard poked his head in after them. I immediately took charge and told them where they could put there cloaks, weapons, etc. and told them if they wanted food they'd better wash up and get to the table. Such a flurry followed that I thought for a moment I'd be run over. Luckily I was able to dodge. I did have to head them off when they started trying to pillage the pantry, but when they found out they'd be getting food a lot faster if they sat down, they settled in.

Bilbo and I were kept quite busy going back and forth, but the dwarves were as amazed as we were at how much we'd cooked. I did notice there were only twelve instead of thirteen, but I heard Dwalin telling Gandalf that one of them was late. I set some food aside for the poor guy, because it was apparent that if I didn't, he wouldn't get much. I made Bilbo sit down and eat some, too. The dwarves seemed to feel bad about their earlier behavior, because they passed him food without complaining and even left him out of the worst of their fun. I actually enjoyed their boisterousness. It reminded me of some of the best nights at college, where a lot my friends and I got together and celebrated the end of exams or just had a game night. It left me a bit melancholy, actually, when I remembered that those friends were long gone and I hadn't actually belonged to such a group for awhile now.

I didn't have time to dwell on it, though, because they decided it was time to help clean up. It took me all of half a minute to see that they weren't actually breaking anything and seemed to genuinely want to help, so I stayed out of the way and ate my own dinner. Just as they were finishing up another knock came at the door. I got to the front hall just in time to hear a coldly arrogant voice making fun of Bilbo and calling him a grocer. Naturally, I couldn't let that go without throwing in my two cents. I elbowed my way to the front, greatly assisted by the fact that once the dwarves realized I was trying to get through, they moved out of the way. Some seemed to be smiling in anticipation.

I walked up next to Bilbo, looked the newcomer up and down, and said, "My, the last one doesn't have any better manners than the first. Are you sure we should let him in, Bilbo? It seems to me that freeloaders should at least be polite." It was interesting to watch the newcomer's face turn red as a barn. He drew himself up to his not very impressive height, (his eyes were about level with my nose) and gave me the most dismissive look I'd ever received. He opened his mouth to deliver what must have been a wonderfully scathing comeback, but I cut him off as I looked over his shoulder at Gandalf.

"Honestly Gandalf, it's very rude of you to drop your friends on poor Bilbo without any warning and then expect him to put up with such rudeness, too. You're the one who invited them, so you should at least be responsible for seeing they keep civil tongues in their heads. If there's some reason you've asked them all to gather in Bilbo's house, it would be only right that you tell him why. They all seem to have some idea of what you want of Bilbo beyond eating him out of house and home, so why not share that information, hmm?"

The newcomer looked taken aback. Apparently he thought Bilbo knew what Gandalf wanted and had volunteered his house for ransacking. My estimation of his intelligence dropped a few fathoms. Gandalf had the decency to look a bit sheepish. He cleared his throat before jovially inviting all of us to the dining hall for talking and a few overdue explanations. I sat next to Bilbo while they all gathered around. One found some stew for the newcomer, who I found out was called Thorin. I wrestled with my conscience for a bit, but watching the poor guy eat stew when his cohorts had eaten a feast, I guess my waitress sensibilities kicked in. He looked wary when I abruptly stood up, but it was gratifying to see his expression turn to astonishment when I plopped a large tray full to bursting with savory vegetables and lots of different meats in front of him. I saw the other dwarves eyeing his tray, and said, "Don't even think about it. You had yours. I had to hide some just so he didn't go without."

I turned back to Gandalf and was pleased to notice that Thorin actually looked grateful. He didn't waste any time digging in, either. My smugness turned to horror as I listened to their "plan" such as it was, unfold. I had never been so furious in all my life as when I heard Gandalf state that he planned on sending my new friend down a hole to become dragon bait. The dwarf with the funny hat didn't help when he started describing death by dragon. When Bilbo passed out on the floor, something snapped. I started yelling at the lot of them, raised my fist, and was arrested by the sight of my fist glowing with flame. It went out abruptly, leaving all of us quite speechless.

Gandalf recovered first. He looked in my eyes and said, " Well, now we know part of what happened to you. You couldn't do that before, I take it?" Then he had to explain to all the dwarves where I came from and how I probably got there. He ended by basically telling them I'd be joining them on the quest. That went over really well. We realized Bilbo had woken up when Gandalf verbally bludgeoned Thorin into accepting me and Bilbo loudly objected. I think we were all a bit mystified when this quiet spoken hobbit loudly bit Gandalf's head off for trying to make the choice for me. He then politely offered his assistance in finding me a place in the Shire or Bree, or even in outfitting me for a trip if I chose to leave them all behind. I told them I'd need time to think about it. No way was I going without Bilbo, but it was quite evident he hadn't made up his mind to go or stay yet, but that he was leaning toward stay.

In the quiet discussion with Gandalf that followed I learned some of Bilbo's fascinating family history. I thought Gandalf almost had him until he made a comment about possibly not coming back and being changed if he did. Still, something in me told me Bilbo needed to go on this quest, so I chipped in. "I'm not going if Bilbo's not, even if it means I'll never get home again. What have these dwarves done for Bilbo that he should help them, anyway? So they're homeless. It's not his job to get them one back even if he's the only one you think can do it. Leave him alone, Gandalf." I got up and left. I saw Balin eyeing me as I left, so I gave him a big wink. He gave me a short nod. After a short discussion with Gandalf, during which I'm sure he twisted Bilbo's arm and made him feel horribly guilty about my possible fate and that of the dwarves, Bilbo came and found me and asked if I really wanted to go. I allowed that yes, I'd like to if he wanted to, and that was that. He signed the contract and I helped him pack his bags. It's a good thing, too. I'd been camping a time or two and hiking and I knew a lot of what he wanted to take was rubbish.

The worst was when he wanted to take his nice red coat. I pointed out that the color would stand out like a sore thumb in any area, that it wouldn't keep him warm at all if it got wet, and that the material would probably snag on every passing twig. He switched it out for one of his father's old coats, a nice wool one that was a greyish color. He helped me pack a bag, too, and gave me the pick of his mother's wardrobe. Surprisingly, this helped a bit. The wardrobe was a bit limited because most of her pants didn't fit me, but at least I had a spare shirt and a few extra underthings. Apparently she was quite the adventurer when she was young and had a lot of useful things, too. We took fishing line and hooks, sewing needles, and fire starters. She even had a set of lock picks, though Bilbo almost fainted when we found those. Apparently he hadn't really been through her stuff since she died. He included a bunch of stuff he thought would be necessary too, like handkerchiefs and spare socks.

It took us quite a while, but eventually we had two packs made up. Bilbo wanted to get us weatherproof cloaks at the market the next day and he had a few things to do before he left, like write out his will and get his favorite relations to watch the place for him. He had some nasty relatives that would try to carry off anything that wasn't nailed down if he wasn't careful. Thorin was less than pleased to be delayed in the morning, but I firmly told him to let Bilbo set his affairs in order and that we'd catch up if we had to. He grudgingly agreed to wait a half hour. I could tell traveling with him would be such fun.

Thorin took me aside while Bilbo was running his errands the next morning and tried to tell me how things were going to be. I listened patiently while he laid out more and more rules, most of which devolved down to, "Obey me, keep your mouth shut, and be a nun." I finally interrupted him and said, "Look, I'm not yours to order around. I never signed a contract, so you're not my leader. I will let you know if I disagree with you, though I will try to keep from arguing with you in front of your men. I won't promise not to flirt with them, but I highly doubt that will be an issue since I have yet to meet a man I could stand for longer than two dates total." Then I had to explain dates and put up with his sudden offended attitude that I thought none of them were good enough for me. Did I mention already that it was going to be a long trip?


	2. Chapter 2

AN: You get two chapters to start out. I have most of it written, but I can only get into town to use the internet every couple of weeks, so it may be a little while before the next installment.

We finally got on the road and it was indeed such fun. Most of the dwarves avoided Bilbo and I as outsiders and did their best to make sure we knew it. The two boys (as I thought of Fili and Kili) tried flirting a time or two, but after I shut them down quite firmly a few times they eventually gave up. It was interesting one night when the boys were teasing Bilbo and got a fun family history story out of Balin. It seems Thorin had had a rougher life than I'd supposed. He lost his home to a dragon, and then lost a lot of his family to orcs. I felt a bit bad for him and resolved to be a little nicer. That didn't last through his next pigheaded episode, but at least I understood him better.

With all the time to think I had, I realized that even if I never woke up or got home or whatever, I wouldn't really mind. Bilbo was a good friend and this life was interesting, if nothing else. Having decided that, I was really cheerful most of the time. I didn't realize I was getting through to some of the dwarves until the funny hat one, whose name turned out to be Bofur, came and plopped down next to me at the fire one night and tried to strike up a conversation. I had to give him points for trying, but his opening line of, "So, are you married?" wasn't really going to win him any points. I might have been just a bit snippy when I replied that I doubted there was a man out there that could live up to my expectations. He took that as an invitation to pry more into my life than what Gandalf had shared and I wound up telling him all about my family, my friends, and quite a few of my failed dates. It wasn't until Thorin made a comment about how my world seemed to lack real men that I realized I had a rapt audience. Most of the older dwarves were at least trying to pretend they weren't eavesdropping by staring into the fire, but the effect was ruined by the fact they all seemed to be sitting on our side of it. A few weren't even trying to hide their interest, like the boys and Balin. The other young dwarf was even taking notes!

I looked at Bofur and said, "You are way too easy to talk to." I turned to Thorin and said, "I don't see that my world is so different from this one in that respect," and while he was still swelling with indignation, turned to the others and said, "OK, shows over. It's time to get some sleep anyway, right?" I walked off to my bedroll and lay down with my back to everyone. Several conversations broke out, but they were all quiet enough I could pretend not to hear. The boys seemed indignant that I would lump them in with all the apparent losers that I had dated previously, Thorin was muttering about distractions and the place of females, Dwalin and Balin were discussing my family with a great deal more seriousness than I thought they warranted, and I heard a few other conversations too low to make out. Bilbo was the only one who left it alone, for which I was grateful. He even tried to strike up a conversation with the fat dwarf about cooking.

The fat dwarf was named Bombur and related to funny hat and ax man. He hadn't let anyone else cook since we left Bilbo's house. I wasn't about to complain, though. He was an awesome cook and even managed to make trail rations edible. His brother or cousin or whatever was named Bifur. I thought of him as ax man because he had an actual ax blade embedded in his forehead. It seems to have messed with the language centers of his brain, because he could only speak dwarvish. They were all three pretty fun. After that night, Bofur took it upon himself to talk with me several times a day and always made me laugh. Bifur would get my attention with some dwarvish word I was starting to think must mean, "look!" because as soon as he saw I was watching, he'd point out a flower or a bird. Once he even showed me a cute little deer of some sort. Bombur was less outgoing than the other two, but he always made sure I ate and liked the food. He'd tell me what he used sometimes and taught me how to find a few edible plants, but for the most part he kept to himself. Those three kept me going when the others were all driving me nuts.

After the first night Bofur talked to me, most of them never mentioned my family or love life again, but every once in a while I'd catch one of them giving me a look after doing something or saying something that seemed to say, "See? We are men!" It would have made me laugh if half the time it wasn't so irritating. Many of the older ones like the bushy red bearded Gloin, his half deaf brother Oin, and the stuffy gray headed one with the funky beard named Dori all got really patronizing. They'd say something or do something, and then tell me I couldn't do that because I was a woman. The three boys, Fili, Kili, and Ori kept trying to help me do things like carry my pack or help me brush my pony, but they were trying to help me because they cared about my fragile female state, not because they felt I shouldn't be doing it. Either way, both groups were about to drive me nuts.

I don't know why they didn't act like that before. Did they not notice I was a girl? Did Thorin tell them to keep their distance? If he did, I almost wish he'd make them back off again. I think I preferred the indifference to the patronization. Thorin, Dwalin, Balin, and the secretive Nori all left me alone. Thorin mostly just ignored me, while Dwalin and Balin looked speculative but kept their distance. Who knows what went on in Nori's head. Gandalf mostly kept his own counsel and Bilbo was as good a friend as ever.

I mention all this so the events that happened will make a bit more sense. It was on a night shortly after this that we met the trolls. Trolls, it turns out, are giant nasty human eating monsters who can't stand daylight. Or bathwater. It wouldn't have been so bad, but Gandalf and Thorin had a tiff over where we were going to camp and Gandalf stomped off like an angry two year old. In his defense it was because Thorin was being stubborn and hardheaded and extremely childish as well, but still.

Anyway, Bilbo left to take the boys their dinner, and the next thing we know, Fili is charging into camp yelling about trolls and the ponies. The dwarves, being excellent manly beings, all went charging off to fight the trolls, but only after Thorin told me quite firmly to stay out of the way. Naturally, I waited just long enough to give them a head start before following them. I don't know what I was planning on doing, since I had no weapons or anything, but I couldn't just leave Bilbo and the dwarves to die, no matter how infuriating they were.

I got there just in time to see Bilbo being held by his arms and legs and the dwarves surrendering. I couldn't help thinking to myself, "Aw, Thorin does care!" If he hadn't cared what happened to Bilbo he'd have just saved his kin. Come to think of it, that was really dumb. Sacrifice all thirteen dwarves, many of whom were kin, to save a hobbit who was only going to die anyway when the trolls got around to eating him was not the smartest decision he'd ever made, but at least it showed he had a good heart.

It didn't take long for half the dwarves and Bilbo to be up to their necks in sacks and the other half to be stripped to their long johns and turning on a spit. I tried desperately to come up with a plan, but the best I got was steal a knife from the weapons pile and try to cut someone loose. I managed to sneak up to the pile and make off with a knife, but then everything went to pot. One of them picked up Bombur and started trying to eat him. Bilbo very bravely stood up and got them to drop him, but I was already charging. I couldn't let them eat gentle Bombur! He'd become a friend over the last few days, and as I had discovered at Bilbo's house, my temper was a lot shorter than it used to be. Without even thinking, I'd tackled the troll's knee from behind and stabbed the knife I was holding as far into his leg as I could. What happened next was as unexpected as it was disturbing. All I could hear was the angry roaring in my ears of my temper, but I felt a sudden pressure against my face, and all of a sudden I was coated head to toe in black goop.

I blinked for a second and tried to get it out of my eyes, and then looked around into the shocked faces of thirteen dwarves, two trolls, and one hobbit. There was a lot of black goop nearby and some of it seemed to be on fire. A quick look down at the goop that covered me showed that most of it had somehow burned off, leaving me entirely unscathed.

We all held that tableau for another few seconds, and then one of the trolls scooped me up in one of his giant hands and squeezed a bit. He was just bringing me up to his face to get a good look at me, I guess, but it still hurt like crazy. He said something like, "what's this then", and I did the logical thing of trying to sink my teeth into his thumb. Unfortunately troll skin is much tougher than ours, so if anything he felt a mild pinch. The taste was indescribable. I immediately spat out the skin I'd managed to get and started hacking and coughing. I was probably two seconds from throwing up all over him when Gandalf's portentous, "The dawn will take you all!" rang out from uphill.

Yay, Gandalf! He made it back just in time to save us all! Unfortunately, he didn't manage to make the troll drop me first, and as it stiffened up and turned to stone it's grip got even tighter. Really cool trick, but I found I'd rather have a live troll and the ability to breathe. Gandalf got over to me just about the time I started turning blue. Bilbo was a dear and pointed me out, or who knows how long it would have taken him to notice my shoes dangling above his head. He did something magical that made the fingers break off, and even managed to catch me before I hit the ground. Unfortunately for him, the jostling was too much and my poor abused stomach ejected its contents down the front of his robes. I must have passed out for a minute or so, because the next thing I know, I'm blinking up at the sky while Thorin makes snide comments about Bilbo and I and someone washes my face. I managed to sit up, then hissed and slapped my hands to my ribs. Not the best move when your ribs are aching, but it was reflexive.

"Careful there" comes from my right and I turn to see Bilbo's concerned face. I blinked and noticed the trio of young dwarves hovering behind him. "I'm fine" I told them all, but not one seemed to believe me. The more I thought about it, the less I believed me either. It felt like at least one rib was cracked and my left elbow might be sprained or something. As I concentrated more and more on the pain, it seemed like I could almost see my injuries. The world kind of faded away, and my whole body was in front of my eyes. All of a sudden, it felt like my body just snapped into focus, and when it did I kind of clinically looked it over. I mentally prodded the ribs. Hmm, two cracked ribs and a cracked vertebrae in my lower back. A _lot_ of bruising. Yep, the left elbow was a bit twisted. No burns from the flaming goop, though.

The funny thing was, as I mentally checked off each thing, it faded out of view until all that was left was a perfectly healthy body. Then my focus snapped back out. My eyes focused instead on the intense blue eyes staring into my own. I blame all the date trauma, but my instinctive reaction to someone getting that far into my space was to slap him as hard as possible and back up. It was only after my reflexes kicked in and the muffled laughter started that I realized it was Thorin I'd just mauled. Whoops.

He pulled himself upright and glared haughtily at me. The effect was a bit ruined by the bright red hand print, though. I decided I'd better head him off at the pass. "Sorry about that. Reflexes, you know. I don't like having people in my space." He unthawed maybe half a degree, but he started chivying people to quit gawking at me and look for a cave. Everyone except Bilbo and Gandalf drifted away. I looked at Gandalf and raised my eyebrow.

"Miss Kara, have you always been able to heal yourself like that?" OK, maybe I was being a bit slow, but it didn't occur to me until he pointed it out that I wasn't in pain anymore. I felt really good, actually. I accidentally ignored his question as I stood up and started experimentally moving around. I must have looked crazy with all the bending and twisting I was doing. I even did a few jumping jacks. It was at that point that someone yelled they'd found the troll hoard. I walked off and left Gandalf staring after me. He caught up in a few strides, though. He's a persistent meddler, I'll give him that. I decided I'd answer his questions, if only to get him to quit following me. The dwarves were all trying to pretend nothing had happened and life was normal. Some were better at it than others. Ori kept shooting me looks like he wanted to interrogate me for his journal, and Oin just pretended I didn't exist. That was pretty much normal for him, though, so maybe he didn't notice the exploding troll.

I looked innocently at Gandalf and said, "Sorry, what was the question?" He harrumphed a bit, but I guess he really wanted to know because he said, "I take it you haven't always been able to heal yourself." "No" I replied. "Before I came here I was just an average human being. No exploding trolls or instant healing or flaming hands." He nodded as if he had expected that. We walked along in silence for a few feet before he muttered, "but why fire and healing?" "Have very many others come along with gifts?" I asked. He seemed surprised, but then replied that no, I was the first he'd seen. I figured it would be safe to ignore him at this point. No one does thoughtful silence like a wizard.

We were finally at the entrance to the cave anyway. My goodness what a stink! Almost as bad as a troll tastes, and that is saying something. Somehow we covered our noses and endured. Thorin and Gandalf admired the swords in a barrel, Gloin and some of the others buried a small chest for later, and Bilbo and I started poking through the stuff that wasn't organized in any way. He gave up after we came across someone's femur, but I kept on. Most of the others had left the cave when I came across two daggers in old rotten sheaths and a small heap of coins and jewelry. Thorin was calling everyone to assemble, so I just shoved all the coins and jewelry into the large belt pouch Bilbo had given me, grabbed the daggers and headed out.

It was a madhouse when I rejoined the others. There was the craziest guy I had ever seen pulling a bug out of his mouth. He had bird poop down one side of his face and a sled pulled by the world's largest bunnies. I couldn't help myself. I immediately went over and offered my hand to a bunny. It sniffed it, then let me scratch it behind the ears. Pretty soon I was being mobbed by eager rabbits. They froze in terror when we heard a howl really close by. I'd heard wolves before when I was on a camping trip with some of my college friends. They had the most beautiful howls, like echoes of the wind and stars. These howls were not like that . They sounded like murderous, angry rockfalls. It was a really weird sound, but it made all the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Bilbo was really concerned and asked about wolves, but Bofur told him that no, those weren't wolves. Then a giant wolf like creature jumped down the hill behind Bilbo. It landed on Oin and knocked him down, but Thorin used his new sword to kill it. Not even a second later, another one jumped at Thorin. Kili shot it, cool as a cucumber. My opinion of him rose a little bit there. Dwalin finished it off. Thorin then said something about warg scouts and an orc pack and Gandalf yelled at him about telling someone besides his kin. Thorin swore up and down that he hadn't told anyone else, though. That kind of caught my attention. If no one else knew, how did they know we'd be here? Was it just bad luck, or something more sinister?

Gandalf suggested that we run, but Ori popped over the hill and said that all our ponies had run off. I couldn't really blame them. They'd had a bad night, what with almost getting eaten by trolls. Ori had a few packs that weren't on the ponies, and luckily Bilbo's and mine were among them. We all prepared to head out while Radagast proved he was reckless as well as crazy by offering to lead them away. What followed was a dizzying run, back and forth, duck and bob, weave and zigzag. I felt like my legs were about to fall off and my lungs were on fire. All of a sudden, everyone stopped next to a huge rock and waited for the orcs to run by. I almost crashed into Dwalin's back. He caught me and was surprisingly nice about keeping me on my feet while I gasped for air. I can walk forever, but get me sprinting and my endurance is almost nil. It was usually better than this, but I guess I hadn't been exercising enough lately.

The pause was only for a brief second and then we were off again. Radagast was an amazing sled driver. He was having a great time playing cat and mouse, I could tell. We finally stopped again next to a slightly smaller rock. Dwalin was practically carrying me at that point. He propped me up next to Bilbo and Bofur. I tried to gasp as quietly as I could while Kili very carefully pulled an arrow out of his quiver. I wondered what he was doing before I heard the scrape of a claw on the rock above us. I froze in fear of discovery, but Kili just calmly put his arrow to his bow, drew, and shot. Then everything went wrong. The other wargs and orcs heard the racket the one Kili shot made falling down the rock, and they were all after us. Off we went running again.

Gandalf seemed to have some idea of where we were going, which was a relief. Still, when we ended up surrounded and Gandalf disappeared, I was a bit concerned. Kili did a great job shooting them, and Dwalin took it upon himself to make sure I didn't fall behind. When Gandalf popped up out of a rock and said, "This way, you fools!" I wanted to hit him. Dwalin threw me down a hole and jumped in after me, which almost made me forget how grateful I was. I decided I was so going to have to work on my calisthenics so I never had to rely on a cantankerous dwarf again. After everyone made it into the hole, an orc fell in after us. Luckily, it turned out to be dead.

Thorin pulled an arrow out of it and said, "Elves" with the same enthusiasm people save for telemarketers or politicians. Dwalin pointed out that the hole we were in was actually a tunnel and asked if we wanted to follow it. We wound up walking down a path into the most beautiful city I'd ever seen. I don't know if city is even the right word. It seemed to have grown there, amid the waterfalls and trees. It was enchanting, and that was before I saw the inhabitants. We'd come to a courtyard at the end of the trail and Gandalf was having a conversation with the most beautiful man I'd ever seen. Seriously, the guy had to spend hours combing his hair. It was a bit disturbing and made me appreciate the rough manliness of the dwarves a bit more.

All of a sudden, a whole bunch more elves rode up behind us and started circling us in a not very friendly way. The dwarves shoved Bilbo and me to the middle and pointed a wide variety of weapons at the circling elves. I was a bit distracted by the truly gorgeous horses. Ok, I admit I am a bit of an animal lover. That was probably apparent with the rabbits, but I challenge anyone who says they even merely like horses not to be drooling at the sight. These weren't just horses, they were the epitome of everything a horse should be. I probably should have paid a bit more attention to the people on their backs, but what horses!

Gandalf started talking in a strange language to one of them, but it wasn't until the dwarves loosened up a bit that I started paying attention. I was relieved to see that the elf Gandalf was talking to, while well polished, was at least definitively male looking. He was saying something to Thorin about having the look of his grandfather, which I thought was nice, but Thorin answered with typical rudeness. I got a bit of a kick out of the elf switching to his own language to offer us food. Seriously, I thought the dwarves had no manners at Bilbo's. They'd been positively charming compared to the way they treated the elves.

They decided to go to dinner, at least, but they all pitched a fit when Elrond stopped me by the stairs. He asked if Gandalf and I would accompany him to his study for a few minutes. Thorin immediately threw a fit about trying to separate the Company, which surprised me quite a bit. I considered gently reminding him that I wasn't technically part of his Company, but thought better of it. Maybe I could teach them to be diplomatic. Fat chance, but you never know. Anyway, I asked if he'd like to come along with me or see to the comfort of his men. I was surprised when he decided to come with Gandalf and I, but when I think about it now, it was probable that he saw me as weak and unable to protect myself and thus in more danger than the Company, who at least could be trusted to keep weapons handy.

Elrond lead the way to his study and politely invited us to sit down. I looked at his lovely chairs and looked down at my extremely grubby clothes, and declined. When he looked at me questioningly, I pointed out that his chairs would probably not survive the experience. He smiled a genuine smile and told me very charmingly that he wouldn't mind sacrificing a chair so a lady could sit. I looked around and spotted an intricately carved wooden bench. It seemed the least likely to suffer, so I sat there. Everyone else picked chairs around it. Thorin, the jerk, picked a white cushioned chair. Sometimes I just wanted to hit him...again.

After we were all comfortable, Elrond looked me deeply in the eyes and said, "Where are you from my lady? Why do you resonate with the air of our valley so?" Rather than letting me answer, Gandalf launched into a long explanation about everything he knew and that we'd learned along the way. Thorin interrupted him about halfway through and asked what business it was of "the elf's" and got progressively ruder to the point that I decided I'd better verbally sit on him before he got us kicked out or thrown in the dungeon. If they had a dungeon, anyway. Maybe locked in storerooms?

Whatever. I stood up abruptly, turned to him, and proceeded to give him a piece of my mind. I pointed out that Lord Elrond had invited us into his home and could obviously tell something was up with me. He had a right to be concerned for his people, and he was Gandalf's friend. Besides, he might know something that could help me at least identify all the weirdness going on with me. He got huffy and was probably about to insist that we rejoin the others when I interrupted him with my next comment. "Besides, you have no right to tell me anything, Thorin. You're not my leader, you're not my father, and you've made it very clear you're not my friend. If I want to talk to an orc, that would be none of your business. Seeing as how I just want to talk to this nice elf, you should have nothing to complain about. I won't talk about you or your Company, but you will keep your nose out of my business." Then I turned away from him and looked pointedly at Elrond.

He was doing an admirable job of concealing his amusement, but I could still see it in his eyes. He said, "We will have time to discuss this later, if you will allow it my lady, but I am sure that you are all weary and hungry. If you'd like to take baths before dinner, it can be arranged and we can all reconvene at another time. I immediately and a bit too enthusiastically agreed to the bath, but I could tell I still smelled like troll. I hadn't had a decent bath since I got to this world, and I was starting to itch. With my luck, I was picking up fleas. Thorin started to object, but I gave him such a look of irritated fury that he relented. He did try to insist that I be accompanied everywhere in Rivendell, but I embarrassed him speechless when I told him that neither he nor any other male was going to watch me bathe and sailed out of the room with a nice attendant Elrond had rung for. I held my giggles from the sight of his red face until we were about a hall and a half away, but then I couldn't help myself and started giggling madly. The elf lady started giggling a bit, too, and I decided that I was really going to like it in Rivendell.

I didn't see the guys again until dinner. I was wearing an elven dress that ran like silk over my skin and slippers that somehow soothed all the aches out of my feet. The nice elven lady's name had turned out to be Simarial, and she had been really helpful. She got me oils and unguents that chased away the fleas, and helped me comb my hair and put it up. The dress she found for me fit perfectly, which was a great relief after all the weeks spent chafing in Belladonna's old things or my own jeans. My clothes were all in pretty sad state. Even my underwear was battered, and my coat was almost a lost cause. My favorite indigo t-shirt was gray and had holes all over the place. It was in slightly better condition than my coat, but it still would have been in the rag bag back home.

I walked up to the table and all conversation stopped. They were all staring at me in a way that made me slightly uncomfortable, even Bilbo. He snapped out of it first and gallantly offered me a seat. I took it awkwardly, but Bofur, bless him, broke the tension by blurting, "Nice dress. I had almost forgotten ye were a girl!" I laughed and replied, "I even smell like one, too! Seriously, guys, the baths here are amazing! You really should try them." They all went back to their own conversations after many of them awkwardly telling me I looked nice. I had to laugh at the way they were carrying on about their salads. I dug in with a will. I hadn't realized how hungry I was, but when I thought about it I realized it had been almost a day since I'd eaten. I'd grabbed a few mouthfuls of trail bread here and there, but I hadn't really eaten since before the trolls.

I had to shake my head at some of their antics, though. Oin shoving a napkin in his ear trumpet just to avoid hearing the beautiful music made me roll my eyes. I've always loved music, and the elves' music was so profound, it made my heart ache. I could have listened to it for years. Elrond's naming of their swords was interesting, and I learned that Gandalf had given Bilbo an elvish blade, too. It was a beautiful piece of work, but he seemed disappointed that it didn't have a name. It made me wonder about my two daggers. I figured I'd ask Lord Elrond later. He, Gandalf, Thorin, Balin, and Bilbo disappeared for a meeting before I could bring it up. I found out later that the map we'd seen in Bilbo's house had something called moon runes that would only be able to be read on a particular night in two weeks time. I was ecstatic to find I had two weeks to enjoy the elves before we left again.

I spent the first day going through the jewelry and coins I'd gotten in the troll hoard and cleaning them up. The daggers turned out to be like Bilbo's. They were elvish work, but unnamed. They were more curved than his and more slender, though. The jewelry was something else again. There were several different kinds. Some looked elvish, others seemed more like stuff I'd seen the dwarves wearing, like some of the beads in their hair. Still others were like nothing I'd seen before.

I took all the elvish stuff to Simarial and asked her about it. Some of it was very old, made in the first age, and some was more recent. I picked my favorite pieces, then made her pick something for herself. She was reluctant, but I said, "Let me give you something, so that you will have something to remember me by when I am gone." She was still a bit reluctant to pick anything for herself, so I pulled out one of the necklaces from the first age that she had particularly admired and made her take it. It was all silver with three white gems dangling from the front like raindrops.

My favorite necklace was a short silver piece with dark sapphires spaced evenly around it, going from smallest in the back to one as big as the end of my thumb in the front. It had matching dangling earrings, but one of them was broken. She told me she knew someone who could fix it for me, so we went to see him after our jewelry party. He was a tall dark haired elf by the name of Glauhir. He very willingly helped me out and was even able to tell me a bit more about the other pieces. He told me which were worth more and what each jewel was. I could tell he wanted some of them, and I couldn't carry all that for too long, so I offered to sell him all but my favorite necklace and earrings, as well as two beautiful rings that I just couldn't part with. One was a diamond cut to bounce the light around in it forever that had two tiny clusters of smaller diamonds next to it that looked like flowers. The other was a sapphire even darker than the ones in my necklace set in solitary glory on a thin silver band. He insisted I keep a lovely hair clasp as well. It wasn't very big, but it was easy to put in and helped keep the hair out of my face. I did think it a bit odd that he put a braid in my hair and attached the clasp for me, but shrugged it off as elvish culture.

When my dwarvish friends saw me, they threw a fit. I didn't get what they were so mad about until a very red faced Fili asked who I was engaged to. After I was finally able to pry my jaw off the floor, I started laughing at the absurdity of it all. This only seemed to make some of them madder and confuse the rest, but finally I was able to settle down and say, "What on earth makes you think I'm engaged? What a thing to say!" They finally admitted that the way my hair was done, with the braid and the clasp I'd used to hold it, said I was engaged in dwarvish. I had no idea they took their hair so seriously. Obviously Glauhir had known and decided to pull a little prank on them. It was so funny, I couldn't even be mad at him.

After I finally convinced them I wasn't engaged and took the braid out, I made them tell me all about what their various hair designs meant. Dwalin having no braids meant that he was unattached. Some unattached dwarves put braids in their hair to show their family, like Fili. He did admit that some of his braids didn't mean anything and were just to look good. He finally smiled when I laughed. He'd been unusually prickly since I'd walked in the door, but I didn't think much of it. Dori's were to show he was the head of his family and that he had two younger brothers. Gloin's showed he was married and had a child, which after I commented that I didn't know he was married, he pulled out a picture locket and showed me his wife and son. I thought it was sweet how the normally reserved dwarf gushed. I made all the right comments in all the right places to keep the conversation going for half an hour, by which point most of the other dwarves had wandered away.

Some of them hadn't wandered far. Fili and Kili were playing some game that seemed to involve a lot of knife tossing, Bofur and Bifur were whittling against one wall, and Dwalin was sitting sentry on the balcony. I decided I should go thank Dwalin for keeping me alive, so I wandered over to the balcony. He pretended not to notice when I came and sat next to him, but I could tell he was listening. "Hey," I said. He gave a brief nod, but didn't even look at me. I figured if he wasn't going to loosen up enough to even look at me, I'd just blurt it out and get it over with, so I said, "Thanks so much for helping me while we were running for our lives. I know I'm probably a burden to you and that you hate having a weak female along, but I really appreciate your taking care of me back there." he didn't seem like he was going to respond, so I stood up and turned to go. I was stopped by a harsh voice behind me saying, "There's a fair space below us here. If you can find some decent clothes, meet me there after lunch and I'll help you take care of yourself."

I turned back towards him, but he hadn't budged. The only sign I might have heard right was the slight reddish tint to his ears. I smiled to myself and thanked him, then turned to leave. The others rapidly started doing their activities again, but I was surprised to see Kili, Fili, and Bofur give Dwalin dirty looks. I guess that was a mystery for another day, but it had me puzzled. Did they not want me to be able to take care of myself? Yes, looking back on it I was a bit dense, but I'd never been in a situation where I had to deal with men very much before. At the time I just shrugged it off and went looking for Simarial to see if I could find the clothes she'd taken to wash for me.

When I finally tracked her down, she admitted that the clothes she'd taken were still being mended, but asked if I'd like to borrow something else to wear. I agreed, which turned out to be a bit of a mistake. She and another friend of hers, a blond elf named Mellonia, had me try on outfit after outfit until they were satisfied. By that point, I had a whole wardrobe. There were everything from tough outdoor gear to a formal gown. I tried pointing out that I was on a journey and didn't need so many clothes, especially dresses, but they told me they'd just put it in my closet against the possibility of my coming back. Crazy elves. They wouldn't even let me pay them. I had the sneaking suspicion that I'd never see my old clothes ever again, mended or not.

I thanked them both, and set about getting ready for lunch. I reflected that it was nice to be able to have girl friends to hang around with. After weeks of nothing but fifteen males, it was almost a physical shock to my system. After lunch, I dressed in one of the tougher outfits and went to meet Dwalin. I took my daggers just in case I got to do more than calisthenics. When I got there, there was a whole audience. It seemed like all the dwarves had come and they'd brought Bilbo with them. What was supposed to be a private training session turned out to be an all out school. They even made Bilbo exercise and learn some moves.

I had no idea why Dwalin seemed to be going so hard on Fili and Kili, but he was surprisingly gentle with me. He was still tough, but I didn't want to rip my own throat out by the end, either. He also spoke softly and emphasized that most of what he would teach me at first would be to help me get away. I did a lot of running, but he also taught me some good moves with my daggers. Glauhir "happened" to be passing with some friends of his at the end of training and watched for a bit, then commented that I might benefit from some of their instruction, since their style of fighting was more suited to my general build than the dwarves'. Dwalin was all for getting up in his face, but I wanted to keep the peace, so I allowed that he did have a point about their fighting styles being different, but that Dwalin was a great teacher and seemed to be doing just fine. Somehow I came out of that conversation with a lot of irritated dwarves and a new twice a day training schedule, once with the elves and once with the dwarves. I decided that maybe Rivendell wouldn't be the peaceful vacation I had pictured after all.

Boy, was I right. I don't know what it was with the elves, but every chance they got they seemed to be trying to get me to spend time with them instead of the dwarves, and the dwarves would respond by doing something rude, like bathing in a public fountain while I was away with some elves. I am so glad I missed that one. I tried to split my time evenly between the two groups, but evenly didn't seem to be enough for either one. The elves kept hinting they'd like me to stay, too. I think they might have worried about me being alone with all those men. Er, male dwarves. I finally told my friend Simarial that while I'd like to visit again after the quest, right now my place was with the Company. Fili "happened" to overhear and told the others. Well, he asked me if it was true that I was coming with them in front of Lord Elrond, Gandalf, and what seemed like every notable person in Rivendell, including all the dwarves. Things toned down a lot for me after I said that yes, I was leaving with them. Tension between the two groups just seemed to keep getting worse, though. I have never had such a long two weeks.

Our last day in Rivendell, Lord Elrond pulled me aside for that long overdue discussion. It turned out he had been observing me and discussing me with Gandalf. They both agreed that it had to have been the Valar that brought me here and gave me these gifts and that I might have even more gifts than I'd already discovered. He encouraged me to practice. My mind immediately went to Bifur. I asked Lord Elrond if he would stand by while I tried to heal Bifur in case anything went wrong. We went to find him and found him in a room with Bofur and Bombur commenting on the art. I was glad we missed most of that conversation. Anyway, I explained what I wanted to try, and they agreed. Bifur looked a bit scared, but I assured him I wouldn't be yanking on his ax or anything like that. We sat down across from each other and I held his hands while I tried to focus on his injuries. It took me a bit to remember how I'd felt before, and Bofur was getting pretty fidgety before all of a sudden, my focus snapped into place like it had before. I could see Bifur and practically feel the gentle pounding of his heart. I looked for injuries, but besides a few old scars he was totally healthy besides the ax in his forehead. I looked at it, saw how it could slide out and then willed it to do so. Suddenly, it left the picture and I could see the damage it left behind. I pictured tissue knitting together and bone regrowing. His arteries and veins reconnected to long dormant sections. Even brain tissue and nerves reconnected. I finally pulled away and found myself flat on my back staring into the concerned eyes of Lord Elrond.

"I have got to stop waking up this way" I thought to myself before suddenly being engulfed in a hug of monumental proportions. Bifur was so excited! He babbled away in a mix of dwarvish and common, before settling into common to thank me with tears in his eyes. Bofur and Bombur were also crying. They couldn't resist hugging me either, and pretty soon I was part of a dwarf sandwich. When they finally let me go and I could breathe again, Lord Elrond said, "That was incredible. I have never seen anything like it in my long lifetime. I could even see the brain regrow. How are you feeling? It seems to have drained you considerably."

That was when I realized I felt like I'd run twenty miles and then been picked up by a troll. I was bushed. I yawned hugely, apologized, and said, "I am rather tired. I know it's not yet dinnertime, but could I take a brief rest?" Elrond smiled and nodded and the dwarves hustled me off to my room. I awoke sometime later to find Oin shaking me. He wanted to check me over to make sure I was healthy. He apparently didn't trust elves to know if I was healthy or not. After he checked me out, he told me to get ready to leave and that we'd all sneak out once the moon runes were read.

I got dressed and found my pack at the foot of my bed. It looked like Simarial had already packed it for me, but I checked to make sure she had given me the proper clothes. Everything seemed to be in order, so I didn't dig too deep and wrote a quick note at the desk, thanking her and Lord Elrond. I also told her to prank Glauhir for me.

I found the dwarves all ready to leave in the room they'd taken as theirs. It wasn't more than five minutes later that Thorin, Balin, and Bilbo walked in and signaled it was time to leave. The dwarves congratulated themselves on their excellent sneaking skills and how they'd pulled one over on the elves, but I saw a few shadows lurking and waved at them as we left. Honestly, the dwarves should have realized that if the elves wanted them to stay we wouldn't have been going anywhere. Gandalf apparently had to stay behind for some meeting, but would meet up with us later. Thorin was his nasty self to Bilbo, telling him to keep up when he'd barely paused to look back. I could agree with Bilbo. I would miss Rivendell, even with all the tension. I had almost felt that I could have a home there.

We traveled for a long time into the mountains, and it seemed that every day the terrain just got worse. The weather stayed nice for awhile, but it finally turned at the worst possible moment, just as we were passing the narrowest, steepest trail I had ever seen. It was so dark it was hard to see the person two steps ahead of you. The flashes of lightning helped keep us all together, but the rain sheeting down made everything slippery. Bilbo almost fell off once. I blessed the quick reflexes of the dwarves as they hauled him back. Shortly after that I heard Dwalin shout something. I looked up just in time to see a boulder bigger than a house hit the cliff above us. Thorin actually grabbed me and pushed me against the rock face. It was very gallant of him, I suppose, but it made me uncomfortable for more than one reason to be pressed between him and the rock.

He didn't let me go, either, until Balin said something about it being a thunder battle instead of a thunder storm. He stepped back then, but he kept hold of my arm. Bofur shouted something about stone giants, and then the mountain under us started moving. The rock face suddenly split right between Fili and Kili. We had a horrible time hanging on, and I whimpered a bit when I realized we were on the knees of one of the giants. Not a good place to be when they're trying to hit each other. One of the giants headbutted the one we were on just as it was trying to stand. It went careening backwards and stopped with the knee I was on right next to a path. Thorin shoved me ahead of him and we all quickly moved to the path that was hopefully not on a giant.

Then we watched in helpless terror as our companions on the other knee were swung about as the giants got into a boxing match. Our giant was winning when a third giant came up and knocked his head clean off. It bounced off the cliff above us, showering us with stone shards. There was a moment of frozen disbelief as we watched our friends pass in front of us just too far to jump before crashing into the cliff. We were sure they'd all been killed, and watched in horror as the giant's remains fell away with no one on it. Thorin rushed ahead, obviously distraught about Fili. As we rounded a bend, though, we found all of them groaning and starting to sit up. I was so relieved I burst into tears. We all took stock of who was where and I suddenly realized, where was Bilbo? I wasn't the only one to notice his absence, as Bofur suddenly asked that very question.

We all started looking around frantically, and then Bofur gave a shout. He'd noticed a pair of hands desperately clinging to the cliff face. Ori and Bofur were closest and flung themselves down to try and catch him. He slipped just beyond their reach, and I about had a heart attack. Then Thorin did one of the most reckless and foolish things he'd ever done. He jumped down the cliff, grabbed Bilbo, and flung him up into the hands reaching for him. Of course, then he almost fell off too. Only Dwalin's strong arm and quick reflexes kept him from finding out what it felt like to be a meteorite.

The scare put Thorin in a bad mood, and I could tell he was bout to vent his spleen on Bilbo, so I figured a distraction was in order. I grabbed Bilbo, gave him a huge hug, and then did the same to Thorin. The both of them seemed flummoxed, and it only got worse when I started to berate them both for being reckless and almost sending me to an early grave. Ori innocently asked, "How would they do that?" I responded, "By giving me a heart attack! I swear my heart almost stopped back there. Men! I'm going to have completely gray hair by the time this quest is over, I can tell." They all looked a bit puzzled at that, but I figured everyone was nicely diverted and it was time to focus on the matter at hand. I looked up the path, and then looked around. "Do you think they're done?"

It looked like they must be, because everything had calmed down and even the rain had stopped for a bit. Who knows how long that would last, though. We all made sure our stuff was secure, then headed up the path. I was bracketed between Dwalin and Thorin after I almost slipped and fell myself. I was sure they'd never let me live it down. We found a large cave shortly after that, but while everyone was bedding down and being generally relieved, I felt uneasy. I looked at the dwarves and then out into the pouring rain. There was no way I was going to get them out again. Thorin at least put an end to the fire idea. While it would have been nice to get dry, who knows what else it would attract. His words about unoccupied caves made me even more uneasy, though.

Kili noticed my indecision and asked, "Are you OK?" "I just have a bad feeling about this cave. It might be a good idea to move on. If we don't, I would recommend keeping our packs on and sleeping with one eye open." Fili started to try and comfort me with platitudes, like "There's no need to worry", and "We'll be right here next to you." I looked at Thorin in exasperation, but he had the oddest look on his face. He then told them to go watch the mouth of the cave. He paused, looked at me, and said, "Everyone keep their packs on! We don't know what might be lurking out there." I smiled at him gratefully, then started trying to find a comfortable space. This wasn't very easy with a pack digging into my back and my daggers digging into my hips, but it made me feel a bit better. Thorin said we'd leave with first light, which was a relief until I heard Balin ask about waiting for Gandalf. I privately agreed with Thorin, though. We needed to get out of these mountains.

I slept for probably only a half an hour before something woke me. I pulled out a dagger and paused. For some reason it was glowing! Thorin's voice suddenly broke the silence as he tried to get everyone up. I had just sheathed my dagger and clambered to my feet when the floor dropped out from under me. Suddenly we were all falling, bouncing off rocks and each other on the way down. Somehow Fili caught me and tried to cushion the blows. Seeing as his armor was just as bad as the rocks, he didn't help much, but I appreciated the thought. We all ended up in a spiky bowl thingy. I landed somewhere near the top, thankfully.

Before we could even get our bearings, we were suddenly swarmed by the ugliest little creatures I had ever seen. They were scabby and twisted and not wearing very much. The dwarves tried to fight back, but we were all roughly separated from each other and pushed down a path. More and more of them just kept popping up all over the place, and pretty soon we were going along at a good clip. They didn't hit me too much, probably because I wasn't offering the resistance most of the others were. Dwalin even shoved some of them off the cliff, but it didn't affect their numbers at all. We were hustled over walkways and down really poorly constructed bridges. It seemed like half the mountain was hollow.

I didn't have much time for observations before we came out on a whole city. It was just as poorly constructed, but I had to give them an A for effort. There were so many bridges and walkways and various structures piled around, it looked like a carpenter's shop in the middle of an explosion. We got dragged through the place and more and more creatures kept popping up. I guess we the the entertainment of the year. I had the sinking feeling we might have been invited to dinner, too. We ended up on a platform in front of the ugliest creature I'd seen yet. Most of them were pretty runty, actually, but he was huge! He had a crown of bones on his head, a loincloth, and not much else. I guess I should be grateful for small favors, but I'll never complain about fat old men in speedos at pools ever again. He was way, way worse.

We were all kind of flung at his feet, but at least we were able to huddle up again. I hadn't liked the feeling of separation the hike had given me. I found myself in the middle, with the dwarves trying to hide me from the creatures. Considering I was taller than most of them, I could have told them it would be a futile effort, but it was sweet all the same. The big guy was all, "what have we here?" and one of his not too bright cronies said, "dwarves, your malevolence." Do I look like a dwarf? I did keep my mouth shut, but the big guy noticed anyway. "And what are you?" He asked. Perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut, but I answered, "What do I look like? A unicorn? I'm a woman, obviously. Definitely not a dwarf." Some of the dwarves like Thorin looked offended that I would deny being a dwarf, but really. I had not so much as a single whisker on my chin.

The big guy actually seemed like he had a bit of a sense of humor, for he laughed a great booming and slightly maniacal laugh. "You have guts, for a weak, puny female." My blood chilled a bit when he added, "We'll have a lot of fun with you." He ordered all of us searched. Our battered packs ended up on the pile with our weapons. Poor Oin had his ear trumpet stomped on. Way too many of them invaded my personal space, though Fili, Kili, and Dwalin tried to bracket me and block them. Thorin ended up directly in front of me, trying to shield me from view again, I guess.

The big one started asking what we were doing there and making all sorts of outlandish accusations about being thieves and assassins. He demanded we tell him what we were doing in his mountains. No one said a word, so he started yelling for some nasty sounding torture devices. The mangler? The bone breaker? They made a rack sound tame. What really got my attention was when he said, "Start with the youngest." I thought he'd start with me, but apparently he had something else in mind for me. Not a pleasant thought.

Thorin being the self sacrificing idiot, I mean noble leader, that he was, called out and stepped to the front. The big guy started making fun of him and mocking him. I found myself getting angrier and angrier. Before I could explode, though, he said something about a pale orc astride a white warg. Thorin protested that he'd died a long time ago, but I could tell he was shaken. The big guy turned to the littlest creature I'd seen yet and told him to send a message to Azog, letting him know where we were. I have to admit, I didn't think they were smart enough to read, but I must have been wrong because the little guy was writing away on what looked like old leather as he was whisked away on a pulley system. It was an ingenious contraption, so I guess I have to give them a little credit.

We were then treated to the big guy's rendition of a song. I held a whispered conversation with Fili and found out that these creatures were goblins, a distant cousin of orcs. We didn't dare whisper much, so I started looking around. I looked through all the dwarves and suddenly realized, Bilbo wasn't there! I tried to think back to when I'd last seen him. Had he fallen down the hole with us? I started whispering back and forth with the dwarves. Before we could do much, the goblin king yelled at us that the next person who whispered could be the first to try out the mangler. He resumed his awful song and I looked around. We weren't kept waiting too long. The devices were being slowly hauled to us. They did look truly dreadful. Before we had to find out if they felt as awful as they looked, one of the more inquisitive goblins suddenly shrieked. He'd been going through the weapons pile and found Thorin's sword.

The king got all freaked out and cowered on his throne as he shouted about it being the "Goblin Cleaver". The next thing I knew, Dwalin had shoved me to the ground. There were whips flying everywhere, and the king was screaming for us all to be killed and eaten. I looked out and happened to see Thorin being held down by three or four goblins, and my heart shrieked when one of them raised a dagger to stab him. I flung out my hand and a fireball shot through the air and incinerated the goblin in a second. Then a brilliant flash of light knocked everybody off their feet. It didn't affect me too badly for some reason, so I squirmed out from under Dwalin and ran over to the weapons pile. I slung my pack over my shoulder, grabbed my daggers, and turned to Thorin.

Just then the source of the bright shock wave came into view. It was Gandalf to the rescue again! He yelled at everyone to grab weapons and fight, so I took advantage of my position and started tossing people their weapons. Dwalin came over before I had to throw him his ax, thankfully. I got a few people their packs back, too, but we didn't have time to grab them all. I had just grabbed the last of Fili's knives when Dwalin hauled me to my feet and shoved me in the direction of the others. The king was shouting something about "the beater, bright as daylight" when I saw Thorin get into a fight with him. Thorin knocked the big guy right off the platform. I have never been so glad to see somebody go.

I tried to help with the fight, but it seemed like every time I'd almost get one, somebody else beat me to it. We'd about cleared the platform when Gandalf shouted to follow him. What followed was a nightmare of running down twisty paths and across rickety bridges while being attacked on every side. I did manage to stick a few of them, including one that was trying to stab Dwalin in the back. I had to say, there was a lot of really impressive fighting going on around me. Balin was a tornado with his sword, and his brother Dwalin was a whirlwind of axes. They were all so awesome! I hadn't thought Oin was much of a warrior, but he whirled his staff so fast, no one could touch him. Bofur was a blur with his hammer, and Kili was so cool! He could cut arrows out of the air and used a ladder as a battering ram and a bridge. They all worked so well together. I felt I was just kind of swept up in the ride. Probably the most impressive was Thorin. He was so graceful and deadly, I almost couldn't take my eyes off him. I had to focus a bit more when I almost ran off the side of a walkway, though. Bofur caught me and yanked me after him. Dwalin guarded the rear.

I was really indignant, though, when Fili actually picked me up and carried me when they turned a bridge into a swing. He tossed me off the other side into Bofur's arms. I turned around to yell at him and saw him and a few others swing back into goblin reach. They fought their way back, then Fili cut the rope and jumped gracefully onto our side. I decided to cut him some slack, especially since we were off and running again. I was grateful for all the calisthenics in Rivendell. They were really helping me now.

Gandalf did something magical, so we were following a boulder he pulled from the ceiling for awhile, but then we turned the corner and ran into yet more goblins. Didn't they ever run out? On the positive side, we were soon joined by the rest of the dwarves. I really hadn't liked being split into two groups. We were just running out onto yet another bridge when the goblin king leaped from below in a shower of splinters. How on earth had he caught up with us? Or did we run in circles? Either way, he was there and he started by taunting Gandalf. Gandalf fell back, then got up and poked him in the eye, slashed his belly, and slit his throat. It was pretty gruesome.

The king fell on the bridge, but the damage he'd done had apparently destabilized it because it broke off the mountain and carried us screaming down into the chasm. We smashed through walkways, bounced off cliffs and ended up way below where we started. I landed near Gandalf, and crawled out of the wreckage just before the huge body of the Goblin king flattened it. The dwarves all groaned and started pulling themselves out of the wreckage. I was helping Bofur pry himself loose when Kili suddenly screamed "Gandalf!" I looked up and saw what had to have been thousands of goblins tearing down the slope after us. We hurriedly got everyone out and ran for our lives again. Bifur grabbed my arm this time and helped pull me out.

We finally burst out into daylight, but we didn't stop running until we felt a bit safer. Just for the record, running downhill with a bunch of dwarves is a bit like running downhill with a rock slide and about as dangerous. Bifur had to let go of me or I'd have been head over feet at the first log. We finally all gathered together, and Gandalf finished counting us. Then he asked where Bilbo was. I felt so guilty! I'd been so concerned with running for my life that I 'd forgotten Bilbo was lost. They all started chattering until Nori mentioned he'd seen Bilbo sneak off when they first caught us. It would have been nice if he'd mentioned that sooner. No one had seen him since. Thorin, of course, had to make some snide comments about how Bilbo had taken the chance to ditch us and had thought of nothing but his nice comfy home since leaving it. I could tell he was as upset as the rest of us, but I still wanted to smack him. Was he just trying to prevent a suicidal rescue mission? Or was he really that much of a jerk?

Before I could ask him, Bilbo stepped out from behind a tree and about gave us all heart failure. I had no idea how he followed us, but I was pretty sure he hadn't been with us in the mountain. He gave a fabulous speech about homes and helping them regain theirs because they didn't have one. It was very moving, but we didn't have time to properly appreciate it before we heard warg howls. We started running down the mountain again, and finally ended up on a cliff. The first few wargs caught up with us, and were quickly dispatched. Gandalf yelled, "Into the trees!" I looked around to make sure everyone was ok, but before I could do more than take a quick glance around, I was shoved into a tree by Thorin. I ended up with him and Balin in my tree. Then we saw a large white orc ride up on a white warg. I don't know what he said, but Thorin was really upset.

Some of it must have been, "kill them!" or something, because all the wargs without riders came and started jumping at us. It was terrifying. They grabbed tree branches in their teeth and ripped them off, and the looks in their eyes said they'd like nothing more than to rip our limbs off, too. I was trying to get mad enough to throw a fireball, when suddenly, our tree started tipping! It set off a domino effect where all the trees started falling over. We had to jump from tree to tree until we all ended up in Gandalf's, which was perched at the very edge of the cliff. The wargs seemed like they'd push that tree over, too, but Gandalf started lighting pine cones on fire and throwing them at the wargs. He passed the flaming pine cones around. If I hadn't been so scared, I'd have tried to get mad and help with the pyromania.

It seemed like we might have at least reached an impasse, because they wouldn't come at us through the fire, but then the tree we were in started tipping, too. It ended up horizontal instead of vertical, hanging over the cliff. We were all dangling precariously. Ori fell and caught Dori, who started slipping as well. Gandalf managed to catch them, but he must have been using magic, because Dori's grip on his staff should have slipped right off.

We were all in dire straights when something must have snapped in Thorin. He stood up and went charging down the tree right at Azog, which went about as well as expected. He got knocked down and chewed on. The only one who could struggle up and go help him was Bilbo. He knocked over an orc just before he was going to cut off Thorin's head. A few more dwarves, including Dwalin, Fili, and Kili, were able to struggle up and go help Bilbo just before he got eaten, but there were too many orcs. I was terrified! I hadn't realized how much they had come to mean to me until I saw them all fighting for their lives against suicidal odds. I got so caught up in watching the fights that I didn't pay attention to the branch I was clinging to. It suddenly snapped and I was free falling.

A great calm came over me as I watched the rapidly rising ground. I looked up as far as I could and saw the stars instead. Suddenly I felt a great pain cross my back. My pack felt like it was squeezing me to death. I barely managed to rip it off before the pain made me pass out. As I held it in my arms, I felt the pressure in my back ease and suddenly I got the weirdest feeling. It was like I had a pair of arms coming out of my back. I stretched them, and suddenly the ground slowed it's rapid advance. I looked over my shoulder and saw an enormous pair of golden wings sprouting from my back. They matched my hair nicely, but I didn't know how to use them. I tried experimentally flapping and ended up falling until I locked my wings again. Apparently I was stuck gliding. I managed to angle around until I could see where I came from and almost screamed. There were giant eagles all over the place!

As I looked closer I realized they must be on our side, because they were dropping wargs off the cliff and picking up my friends and dropping them on each other. I saw the last one catch Gandalf as the tree finally fell. They started flying up and away and I cried out in dismay. There was no way I could catch up with such expert fliers. One of them suddenly swerved in my direction and looked me over. It swooped below me and came up so I could grab on. I held on to its neck as it accelerated after the others. I tried pulling my wings in and managed to fold them against my back. The sensation of arms went away as quickly as it had arrived.

The flight was really pretty long. I took the opportunity to watch the eagles and try to figure out how flight worked. I also watched Thorin worriedly. I couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. He hadn't turned blue, which was something. Everyone else seemed ok, but I was really glad when they started winging down to a large flat topped rock. It kind of looked like a bear head. My eagle was one of the last to put me down and by the time I got down Gandalf had done something that woke Thorin up again. He started ranting about how he'd told Bilbo he was a burden, that he wouldn't survive in the wild, and that he had no place in the Company. I could tell he was crushing Bilbo's spirit and was about to hit him over the head with something when he suddenly added, "I have never been so wrong in all my life."

He grabbed Bilbo in a bear hug, and everyone cheered. It was a sweet moment, made even sweeter when Thorin apologized to Bilbo for doubting him. Bilbo replied he would have doubted himself, too. Then the dwarves all noticed a smudge on the horizon. It was the Lonely Mountain. They were all choked up seeing their home again for the first time in decades. I was just tired seeing how far we still had to go. The orcs were sure to catch up with us again at some point, too.

Actually, the more I thought about it, I was just tired. I hadn't slept since the night before the goblin tunnels, and it had been a full day since then. That was forty-eight hours without sleep. While they stared at the mountain, I sat down and pulled out my blanket. Then I lay down and used my pack as a pillow. I was out like a light.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I'm stuck in town due to bad weather. Oh, darn. Guess that means you guys get another chapter. Just try to leave reviews, please? New writer, here. I could use the constructive criticism. Tell you what. If I get ten reviews before I leave, I'll post another chapter today. FLames don't count, though.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters, plot additions, etc. Everything from the Hobbit doesn't belong to me and makes me no money. Sigh.**

Some time later, I woke up when someone tried to move me. Thorin was being his noble self and trying not to wake me for the hike down the rock, but I could tell he was still injured. Dwalin was saying something like, "let me do it," and there was some arguing in the background, but the more I thought about Thorin's injuries, the more clear he became and the more everything else got fuzzier. Gradually he became the only thing I could see. His injuries stood out like glowing embers, and there were a lot of them. As I watched him, they started to fade one by one until they were all gone and the rest of the world snapped into focus. I could see Thorin's eyes for just long enough to note that they seemed full of awe before blackness hit me like a hammer between the eyes.

The next time I started to wake up, I heard a lot of splashing. I was going to open my eyes, but then I heard male laughter. My brain actually managed to put two and two together and come up with a hypothesis: the dwarves were bathing. Not wanting to test this theory, I listened and tried to figure out what else might be going on. It didn't take me long to pick up on the hushed conversation being held in the opposite direction from the splashing.

Gandalf was saying something about "it taking a lot out of her" and "we should have noticed how tired she was after the trolls." What sounded like Thorin asked if "she was going to be all right." I wondered dimly who they were talking about. She sounded important, and maybe in need of help. I was so distracted by the splashing and resisting the temptation to jump up and yell "boo!", although I'd probably end up being the most embarrassed, that I couldn't muster up the ambition to get up to see if I could help. Gandalf said she'd be ok, so I quit worrying again. He mentioned something about helping her learn her powers and the limits to them, at which point I realized they were probably talking about me. I couldn't muster up the energy to care, so I stopped listening. The splashing had finally ended, and I was surrounded with the sound of dwarves getting dressed. It sounded like it was devolving into horseplay, too, but Thorin's voice cracked like a whip, telling them to get dressed and that there was a lady present. Nice of him, but I worried he knew I was awake. I rolled over, and suddenly the sounds gained an urgency they hadn't had before.

I waited for a bit longer until Bofur said, "We're all done, lass. Yeh can open your eyes, now." I opened my eyes and found myself surrounded by concerned dwarves until Oin said, "Give her some air!" They all backed up at least two paces before Gandalf hunkered down in front of me leaning on his staff. "Well young lady, you gave us a scare." I just looked up at him, confused. "You stopped breathing for a minute after you healed Thorin. It took all my wizardly arts to get you started again." I let this sink in for a moment, and then it all came rushing back to me. The orcs, the cliff, the wings, the eagles, and seeing Thorin dangling like a limp doll. Worrying about him and gradually seeing all his injuries melt away. I guess I must have healed him without realizing it.

Healing seemed to take my energy, too, which made sense. Nothing is ever free, and the conservation of energy states it has to come from somewhere. That somewhere was apparently me. After forty eight hours with little rest and less food, I was running on empty before all the running, let alone adding growing wings and healing Thorin. No wonder I passed out.

I looked around into all their concerned faces and tentatively smiled, before I noticed one was missing. Where was Bilbo? When I asked, they said he'd gone back scouting to make sure we weren't being followed. They protested when I started to get up, but I felt better than I had in a week. I gently put them off until Thorin ordered me to lay back down, at which point I very firmly, and a bit rudely, informed him that I would decide when I lay down, thank you very much, and if anyone had a problem with that I'd give him a date with a fireball. He looked seriously confused and I suddenly remembered the conversation I'd had with Bofur about dates. I groaned and said, "I meant that you'd meet one of my fireballs very closely." My explanation didn't seem to help much, so I threw my hands in the air and stomped down to the river to wash my hands and face. I'd have really liked a bath, but it was doubtful the hovering dwarves would let me out of their sights until they'd calmed down.

Fili came up next to me once I was standing again and handed me my pack. I thanked him with a smile, then looked back at the others. They were all studiously doing something that had them not looking at me, except for Thorin, who was staring at me and brooding. Annoying git. I was opening my mouth to tell him off, when Bilbo came rushing into camp. They asked about orcs and were dismayed to find out we were still being followed. They were so concerned that it took Bilbo three or four tries to get them to understand that there was something else out there.

I was less than enthusiastic to find there were giant bears in this world as well as giant wolves, bunnies, and eagles. What next, giant snakes? Spiders? Rats? I was thinking about what else I wouldn't want to meet giant sized while Gandalf was saying something about a possible host, so I missed most of that conversation, but I gathered when everyone started running that the giant bear was probably after us and Gandalf knew somewhere nearby we'd probably be safe. I was actually doing all right running. Gandalf must have been right that the reason I had such a hard time after the trolls was that I'd used all my energy. I was actually out running most of the dwarves until Bombur put on a burst of speed and passed me. Still, I was only second to the door. The dwarves started beating on it, but after closer examination I realized it was a simple latch. I pulled it and we all piled in. We managed to slam it just as the bear reached it.

Everyone started settling down and finding places to sleep, but I was worried we were basically breaking and entering. I found Gandalf sitting by the fire and gazing into it. "Whose house is this, Gandalf?" I asked. He looked up, startled, then gave me a gentle smile. "Don't be concerned, dear lady. I'm sure he will be back in the morning and we can explain ourselves then." He turned back to the fire, obviously done talking. Wizards can be so exasperating. Or maybe I shouldn't generalize and just say Gandalf was so exasperating. I sniffed to let him know what I thought of that and turned to look over the situation. Most of the dwarves and Bilbo were already asleep. The rest were trying to get comfortable, except for Thorin. He seemed to have stationed himself to watch the rest of the house and keep everyone safe. I met his eyes and he quirked an eyebrow as if to say, "Aren't you going to turn in?" I gave him a small smile and shook my head. He got one of those stern looks on his face, but I wasn't tired. I'd slept most of the last day and a half. I took to exploring the wing of the house we were in. I didn't want to leave the safety of the group, but the house was fascinating.

Probably the most fascinating thing was that there were animals everywhere! None of them showed any sign of aggression, and I wound up sitting down with cats, dogs, and mice all vying for my attention. They were surprisingly smart, too. When I told them they'd all have to wait their turn, they settled down and just stared at me. I'd pet one for a few minutes before it would move off and another would take its place. It was remarkable. I started getting sleepy after while, but I was determined to pet each and every animal in line. The line suddenly disappeared after I started nodding, though. I walked back by my pack and found someone had laid out my blanket for me. I really loved this Company. Smiling and contented, I fell asleep almost instantly.

I woke up the next morning with a start. It took me a bit to figure out what had startled me, but seeing a giant shadow pass by from the other room made me realize that our host had come home. I carefully got up and dusted myself off, but nothing was going to make me truly presentable. I wished again that I'd been able to take a bath the day before, too. I went out to the other room and found Gandalf, Thorin, and a few of the others around a table. The animals were actually serving breakfast, which I thought was really cool. I knew they were super smart!

I took a seat between Dori and Gloin and looked around. Before I could notice much, half the animals converged on me and started offering me all kinds of dishes. I recognized many from the night before and thanked them all kindly. A few I scratched in places I'd learned they particularly liked, like behind the ears or under their chins. I figured I'd better stop, though, after I made one dog drop his tray. I whispered an apology as I helped him pick up his plates. Luckily none of them had broken. After he headed back to the kitchen, I sat back in my chair and realized most of the dwarves were up and everyone was staring at me. I blushed and looked intently at my plate.

"Well," said the deepest, rumbliest voice I had ever heard, "At least one of you has a care for those around you." I looked up and saw our host for the first time. He was extremely tall and very hairy. "This wizard has just been telling me about your journey. It seems you have had a rough time of it. I think even less of dwarves that they would drag a woman along on such a dangerous trip." He gave a look of such intense dislike to Thorin that I figured I'd better set him straight. "They couldn't exactly keep me from coming. I do have a mind of my own, you know. Besides, I'm not from this world, and part of why I accompany them is so I can figure out why I'm here. And even though their manners are atrocious and they're really prickly to outsiders, they're great friends and always there when you need them. They've taken really good care of me."

The dwarves didn't seem to know whether to be gratified or offended, but our host gave a great booming laugh, and seemed to lighten up considerably. He said, "I thought maybe you were a cute little bunny stolen away by these rogues, but it seems you're more of a fox, all ferocity and spunk despite your diminutive size. I still dislike dwarves, though. They are careless and blind to the lives of those they consider lesser than themselves. But orcs I hate more." He finally looked away to where Thorin sat steaming. "What do you need?"

That was a very good question. We set about to inventory our packs and see what we had. I couldn't help but ask if there was anywhere I might take a bath and wash my clothes. When Beorn told me that a stream ran deep in the land behind his house, Thorin threw a fit and said that I was under no circumstances going to take a bath because no one could watch over me. I kinda got where he was coming from, but if I had to smell goblin stink on me one more minute I wasn't going to care who watched me bathe. Beorn took pity on me and told Thorin I'd be perfectly safe with his animals watching over me. I gave Thorin a look of desperate entreaty, which caused a look of surprise to cross his face. He looked me up and down, apparently just noticing my disheveled and extremely stained state, before his eyes softened and he gave his consent. He let me know there'd be dwarves within calling distance, though. I smiled brilliantly at him, grabbed my pack, and ran for the back of the house. Beorn gave a peculiar whistle and a whole pack of dogs followed me.

It didn't take me long to be up to my ears in water. I pulled soap out of my pack and scrubbed myself pink. I washed my hair three times before I was satisfied I'd gotten all the gunk out of it. It had been a bit disturbing to climb into the water and see it turn dark as dirt spread out from me and gradually washed downstream. When I was done, I got into the second outfit Simarial had sent with me and washed the first. It was still horribly stained, but at least it didn't smell like a cesspit anymore. I hung it on some branches and took the opportunity while my hair was drying to go through my pack thoroughly for the first time since Rivendell. I found all sorts of useful items, including a couple small knives and net hammock. At the very bottom was a supply of lembas bread. There was a lot of it, so I almost didn't dig further, but then I noticed a scrap of cloth in the corner.

I moved some lembas and pulled out my favorite of the dresses Simarial and Mellonia had given me. It was modestly cut, with a v-neck in front and back and long sleeves. They hugged my arms all the way to the wrist, where they ended with a point on the back of my hands, held there by rings around my middle fingers. The top hugged my curves, but the skirt was loose and billowed around me when I moved. If it wasn't floor length I might have been concerned about the slightest sneeze causing it to fly up. Then again, it was elvish work and they definitely knew what they were doing. There was a belt that came to a v in front with a long trailing part going down from the front of the v. The belt and the rings were silver and would look awesome with my sapphires.

I shook my head at their frivolity. What was the likelihood of my needing a dress on a journey like this one? Still, it was too pretty to throw away. I buried it at the bottom of my pack again, then checked my clothes. They were still too damp to repack, unless I wanted to ruin all that awesome lembas bread, so I pulled out a comb and started combing my hair out to help it dry. It was getting really long. Once I had all the snarls out, it reached my lower back. When we'd started this trip it had only been just past my shoulders. It hadn't been that long that we'd been walking, had it?

I decided it was past time for a hair cut. Hair this long would only be a hindrance on a long journey. I finished combing my hair and checked my clothes again. They were just barely damp, so I carried them over my arm back to the house. One of the biggest dogs was very insistent, so I let him carry my pack. I paused for a minute and just enjoyed the sun shining on my face and soaked in the wonderful peace that permeated Beorn's. When I opened my eyes and looked toward the house, it was to find a whole passel of dwarves, one wizard, one skin changer, and one hobbit all staring at me in what might have been wonder. Some looks were clearly appreciation of a sort that made me uncomfortable for some reason. I tugged my hair self consciously, then turned to Bilbo and asked if he knew how to cut hair.

The outcry that followed was as vociferous as it should have been expected. I had forgotten how particular dwarves were about hair. No few of them threatened Bilbo with dismemberment if he so much as looked my direction with a sharp object in his hands. Bilbo looked at me apologetically and said, "Sorry, my hands are tied. Besides, your hair is lovely. It would be a shame to cut it." I rolled my eyes before a thought occurred to me. Maybe now would be a good time to have the dwarves help me with the rest of the jewelry from the troll hoard. I threw my hands up theatrically and said, "Fine! But you all can help me figure out how to keep it out of the way." That left all of them besides Bilbo looking uncomfortable.

I stomped over to the porch and sat down before pulling out the unsorted pouch of jewelry from my pack. I scratched the dog who'd carried it for me under the chin as a thank you, then spread my second shirt out next to me and poured the jewelry onto it. I could feel all the intent looks on me, but once the jewels were spread before them, they couldn't help themselves. I could feel them pushing and shoving behind me to get a better look, but the only one brave enough to say anything was Bofur. He casually walked over and said, "What you got there, then?" I looked up at him and smiled before replying, "Oh, just a few things I picked up in the troll hoard. I went through and sorted out all the elvish ones with my friends in Rivendell, but we didn't know where these came from."

He sat down and started sorting through them, deftly putting dwarvish in one pile and unknown in another. It didn't take him long, since there'd been a lot more elvish than anything else, but there were five or six beads, three rings, and a lovely necklace. I picked up the necklace and was admiring it while Bofur started examining the beads. I was surprised when he suddenly said in the most serious tone I'd ever heard him use, "Thorin, I think you should see these." The others, who had been pretending they weren't eavesdropping and craning their necks to see, gave up all pretense of disinterest and gathered around. They made way for Thorin when he approached from the other side of the porch, though. I put the necklace down and took a closer look at the beads Bofur was holding. They were silver, amazingly carved, with what looked like a dwarf rune on each one and little inset stones here and there.

Each one was its own work of art, but you could tell they belonged to the same set.

Thorin picked one up and turned it over in his hand, before turning suddenly to me and saying, "Where did you get these?" He had the strangest look in his eyes, like a distant storm that was threatening to break over everyone around him, but me especially. "In the troll hoard." I answered. I was proud that there was no quaver in my voice to show how uneasy his look was making me. I tried a bit of distraction by asking, "Do they mean something? I can tell they're special." The storm was diverted a bit, but I could tell some strong emotion really wanted to break out. He looked at Balin, who explained quietly, "They're Durin beads, lass. I've no notion if they came from someone he knows, but they're from someone of the royal family."

I looked at him with a bit more compassion. I picked up the four he wasn't holding, took his hand, and poured the rest in before closing his fingers around them. Then I turned and pretended there wasn't a whole world of tension behind me and said, "So, what about these rings and this necklace? Can anyone tell me about them, or are they just to look pretty?" It took a few seconds, but then they kind of shook themselves and Balin looked them over. Two of the rings were obviously men's rings, big and heavy. They seemed solid gold with a single jewel set in the top. One had a large topaz, and the other a large emerald. They were both lovely, but nothing I could use. Balin said they were probably a wealthy merchant's, but there were no clan markings or anything identifiable on them, so they must have just been for show, or maybe the merchant was looking to sell them.

I set those to the side and picked up the third. It looked silver and had a lot of intricate geometric patterns and carvings, but no stones. It was really pretty and delicate, though. I slipped in on and found it fit my right pointer finger perfectly. I was admiring it in the light when Kili started snickering. I looked up sharply and found all the dwarves, even Thorin, were either grinning or smirking at me. "What?" I asked. Most of them shook their heads and they all seemed like they were going to walk off and not explain themselves, so I tripped Kili and quickly sat on him when he crashed to the ground. I bounced a bit, making him groan as I deliberately dug my tailbone into his spine. "What was so funny?" I asked again, this time with the best dangerous edge I could muster.

It obviously wasn't dangerous enough, though, because Kili grabbed my foot and started tickling, then Fili pushed me and I fell off. He grabbed my other foot, and pretty soon I was howling with laughter and trying to squirm out of their grips. The tickling stopped abruptly, and I caught my breath and looked up to see Thorin giving his nephews the most murderous look I'd seen on him since he charged Azog. I didn't see what could make him so mad, but he said in a dangerously quiet voice, "That is no way to treat a lady." He turned to me and asked if he could have a word. I sat up and looked for the boys, but they had already used the opportunity to escape. I considered chewing Thorin out for letting them get away, but after looking at his face decided that now might not be the best time to annoy him. I went over and scooped the rest of the jewelry back into the pouch I kept them in, but kept the necklace and ring out. If I was really lucky, I'd be able to get Thorin to explain.

I walked back to Thorin and he turned and led the way out into the meadows. I followed him, trying to come up with different reasons why he wanted to talk to me and making myself nervous as I went on. It was probably just to awkwardly thank me for the beads, I told myself, but Thorin made me nervous at the best of times. To have him leading me off to the middle of nowhere while he brooded in total silence was rather unnerving. When I thought of it, I realized I'd never been completely alone with him before. That made me even more nervous. It occurred to me that Thorin was a very good looking guy. I was chastising myself for thinking of that now, when it was bound to make an awkward conversation even more awkward, when Thorn stopped and sat down next to an enormous tree. I was distracted for a minute wondering what kind it was, and was surprised when he took my hand and gently led me to sit down next to him.

I looked up into his eyes and was arrested by all the deep emotion bubbling in them. He suddenly gave me what had to be the most awkward hug I'd ever received, and then quickly pulled back self consciously. I just stared at him like a loon. He cleared his throat and looked away, but seemed to regain his resolve and turned back. "I wanted to say thank you," he said. Unfortunately, my sarcastic brain jumped in at this point and said without any direction from me, "Which is why you drug me off to the middle of nowhere? You didn't want any witnesses?" I slapped my hands to my mouth, but I couldn't have looked any more embarrassed than he did. "No," he replied, "I drug you to the middle of nowhere so I could talk to you about the jewelry you discovered without interruptions." It seemed like a lame excuse to me, and he must have noticed that in my expression, because he added, "and I didn't want my nephews to harass you."

I assured him I could handle them and was just about to make my move when he butted in earlier and let them get away. His expression changed to half amused and half something I wasn't quite sure. Jealousy, maybe? That couldn't be it, though, because it made no sense. "Be that as it may," he rumbled, "I want to thank you for these, as well." He held up the beads. "These beads are important, and most have been lost over the centuries, but they are all designed for the royal family." He held them out on his palm and rolled them around with one finger so I could get a better look. "These three were designed as part of the royal regalia, and these two were beads given to one's children. I don't know how those trolls got them, but I fear whoever owned them met a terrible fate. I can tell they are very old, so they've been lost for awhile."

"They're in really good shape for something so old, then." I replied. "They look brand new." Thorin smiled a genuine smile that arrested me with some indefinable emotion. "They are mithril," he said. I'd heard a bit about mithril from Bofur once when we were talking about mining, so I knew how rare and precious it was. No wonder these beads had lasted so long! They were almost indestructible. I looked at them admiringly for a moment, then looked up and met his eyes. "I'm glad I could get them back for you," I said quietly and sincerely. Another brief smile flitted across his features before he put them in his belt pouch.

I figured now might be the best time to get the story of the ring out of him, so I sweetly asked, "What's the meaning of this ring then,? Did I put it on the wrong finger?" He froze for a moment, then looked at me sideways and smirked again. He looked like he wasn't going to answer, so I opened my mouth to complain. I froze when he interrupted my inhale with, "It's a dwarven promise ring. It doesn't matter which finger you wear it on, but wearing it on your right pointer means that you're completely off limits to those outside those closest to you. They may not speak, or even look at you without consequences before you're married." I gave an indignant gasp and practically ripped the ring off. I was surprised by the throaty laugh of carefree happiness Thorin gave. I was staring at him in wonder when he finally took notice and stopped. "What?" he asked a bit self-consciously. "Nothing," I replied and looked away. I busied myself with putting the ring in my belt pouch. I stole a glance up and found him looking at me questioningly. "It's just that I've never heard you laugh before. It's a really nice laugh."

He looked pleased and a bit self-conscious, but reached down to grab my hand and help me to my feet. I wasn't quite sure what, but something had changed between us under that tree. He held on to my hand for a few seconds longer than he needed to before letting go. I fiddled with my belt pouch again and remembered the necklace. "what about this?" I asked as I pulled it out. He took it and ran it through his fingers. It was a simple chain of square links of gold, with a square cut ruby about the size of my thumbnail in the front flanked by two topazes. The chain flattened out into a strip of geometrically worked gold to hold the jewels, so they lay in a rounded shape just below the collarbones of whoever wore it. He looked into my eyes and smiled before handing it back and saying, "It's just a pretty piece."

I was distracted all the way back wondering why I hadn't noticed before that his eyes were such an amazing blue. It was lunch time when we got back, so we went in and joined the others. I was so distracted that I almost stabbed Bifur with my fork when I reached for more veggies. His quick reflexes saved him, but he asked, "What's wrong? Why are you so distracted?" I looked up and around and noticed every eye fixed on me, looked down at my fork embedded in the table, and looked up again sheepishly. "Sorry! I was just thinking what strange things have happened since I got to this world." They seemed to buy it, but I was surprised to see a look of disappointment on Thorin's face. That man was the most confusing man I'd ever met. I made up my mind to stay far away from him until I could figure out why he made me so uneasy.

That decided, I was able to finish my meal and carry on a conversation with Bifur at the same time. We'd discovered that he wasn't completely better. He still had a hard time remembering some words in Common, and he'd get a headache occasionally. He told me about his day and the field of flowers he'd found to one side of the house. We were just discussing the giant bees when Thorin mentioned we'd be leaving the next day. I shared a look of regret with Bifur. I would miss the peace of Beorn's. I carefully petted a mouse that had climbed onto my knee as I thought, I would miss all my new animal friends, too.

Beorn caught my attention when he started describing the perils of Mirkwood, though. It sounded like an absolutely nasty place. We'd need to carry all our food and water with us, and we would have to be extremely careful of nasty wildlife and enchanted water. I wondered what Beorn had against the elves. These were the ones that had instilled such a dislike of their kind in Thorin, so maybe they were best avoided. We each took care in repacking our belongings, and Beorn was kind enough to provide packs to those who needed them. It made me wonder why he had so many, though.

Beorn offered to let me stay while they moved on, but I told him I needed to stay with my Company. It was after I said that that I started wondering when it had become mine. I thought no one had overheard us, but Thorin startled me when he said "It would be better if you stay. You are a distraction and it would be better if no one had to worry about protecting you." I felt hurt. Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought we'd established a connection under that tree. I turned to give him a piece of my mind and found him trying very hard to keep a neutral expression on his face, but I could tell he was worried about me. It stopped me in my tracks. I looked at him for a moment before stepping forward and giving him a hug. He looked floored, and that was before I kissed his cheek and said, "You're sweet. It's not going to work, but I get why you tried. I'm not some weak useless damsel in distress, though, Thorin. Don't worry. I have great faith in you and the Company. I'll be fine." I quickly brushed past him and headed for the door with my pack before I could start blushing. I'm not usually that affectionate. As it sunk in that I had actually kissed his cheek, I wanted to die of embarrassment. I could feel red sneaking into my cheeks as I approached the ponies. Fili looked at me questioningly, but I just shook my head. There was no way I was ever going to mention what just happened.

I looked for Beorn and saw him approaching with a beautiful mare. She was lovely, but I could tell she wasn't very spirited. I pretended to have missed him while I scanned the ponies and found a fractious young colt. I walked over and let him smell my fingers. I'd spent time with all the animals I could find at Beorn's, so he knew me and settled down. I swung onto his back just as Beorn caught up to me. I smiled at him and said, "Thank you so much for opening your home to us, Beorn, and for all your help. It's been an amazing few days. Take care of yourself." Then I gave him a quick hug and patted the mare's nose. "She is a beauty. You might have Bilbo ride her. He's not very experienced."

He smiled at my redirection and patted my knee. "Take care, Lady. Know that you will always have a place here if you need it." I smiled at him in gratitude and he moved off to find Bilbo. I looked around and was startled to see half the dwarves glaring after him. It was at that point that I started to realize that many of the dwarves might like me. You know, be attracted to me. Yes, I'm sorry it took me that long to figure out. Looking back on it, it was kind of obvious from the start, but I'd never really hung out with any guys for longer than a couple of hours at a time. I can honestly say that I'd never had any guy seriously interested before. There was the guy who wanted to move in on the second date, but I don't think even he was attracted to me as anything more than a way out of his parent's basement.

I tried to figure out who was interested by the glares, but seeing as how they were all glaring, it was kind of hard to tell. Gloin was an obvious no. Thankfully his and Oin's glares looked more paternal than anything. I could file Balin and Dori under that category, too. I looked at Fili and realized that yes, he liked me that way. It was the jealousy in his glare that gave him away. I looked for jealousy and about wanted to ride off and never come back. Kili seemed less jealous than his brother, but Bofur? Nori? _Dwalin?_ I almost fell off my pony at that last one. I hadn't realized all his careful watching had meant more than his usual watchfulness. Nori was a surprise as well. I never talked much to him because he was always so self contained. Luckily it seemed that Ori was oblivious, and Bifur and Bombur had a brotherly air, but I couldn't believe all this had been brewing under my very nose and I had missed it.

We started off while I was still brooding about it. I thought about it and realized that my eyes had been opened to the idea by my chat with Thorin. I had realized that I was attracted to him, and that had opened the possibility of there being attraction in our Company. Before I had just seen it as a big group of friends. Guy/girl hadn't ever entered into it. How dense could I get? I was a young attractive female traveling with a group of hot blooded males on a really long journey. Of course there were going to be issues that way. It occurred to me that the reason there hadn't been fights was that I had treated them all equally. Also, they had probably figured out just how oblivious I was.

I doubted I could fake that obliviousness, so I would have to be very careful in the future not to lead anyone on and not to hurt anyone's feelings. I started getting a headache. I looked around for a distraction and realized that Dwalin was riding behind Thorin, who was riding at the front. The others had kind of herded my pony to be right behind him, and Fili and Kili were riding next to each other behind me. It was subtle, but they had put me at the most protected spot in the group. I had to smile. It was nice to have people that cared about me. That thought sent me off on another tangent. I was kept busy thinking, trying to figure out if there had been anyone or anything in my life before that I had cared for like I cared for my new friends. It didn't take me long to realize that no, there hadn't. I didn't even care about my own parents that much.

That made me feel guilty, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was their own fault. One of the classes I took for fun in college was Child Development. In it I learned about the bonds formed between parents and child, and how crucial that was in helping the child bond with others in the future. I was a classic example. My parents hadn't formed a bond with me, so I hadn't formed a bond with anyone else, either. Even after all we'd been through together, there was still a part of me that expected the dwarves to decide they wanted nothing to do with me again when this was all over. It made me really depressed to realize I wasn't normal, and may never be able to fully trust another person to care about me.

It was as I was starting to wallow in misery that Bilbo rode up next to me. How he got his pony to move faster than a slow walk is beyond me, but he must have been determined. I looked into his concerned blue eyes and felt a warmth blossom in my chest. Here was one person I would trust unequivocally to always have my back, and where there was one, there could be more. I surprised him by leaning over and giving him a hug. "Thank you, Bilbo. You've made me feel much better." I rode on whistling and heard Bofur tell Bilbo, "There's no understanding women Bilbo. We just do the best we can." I laughed and continued riding. The world seemed really bright all of a sudden.

My good mood lasted all the way to Mirkwood. I took one look at the trees and dug my heels in. Bilbo just barely beat me to the punch. He talked about the sickness of the forest and asked Gandalf if we could go around. After explaining that we'd have to go two hundred miles north or twice that south, he finished the examination of the trail he was making and came striding out of the forest like a man possessed. He informed us he'd be leaving and to stay on the path. I have to admit, he freaked me out a bit with his talk about illusions and getting lost. Still, I had no desire to ride off after him. My place was with the Company. I might need Gandalf if I ever planned to leave this world, but it was at that moment that I realized I had no intention of ever doing so. I had long ago accepted that this was no hallucination or coma dream. I was here, and here I would stay. Having made that decision, I turned to the others and was surprised to see them all eyeing me.

"What? Have I got something on my face?" I reached up to check and startled a few of them into a laugh, but my gaze was pulled to Thorin when he spoke. "Have no fear, lady. We will see you safe back to the wizard." I was suddenly furious with him, and found myself stomping over. "My name is Kara. Not lady, not lass, Kara. And while it would be nice to have a wizard with us in that awful place, I won't be too disturbed if we never see him again." Then I realized what I said and did some hasty back pedaling. "I mean, I hope we see him again. I don't want anything to happen to him. I just don't need him. It's not like I have a home to go back to, anyway." I realized from the look of surprise on Thorin's face that I had said more than I meant to and should probably quit before I dug myself in any deeper. I hid my blush by turning to look at the woods. I peeked back over my shoulder at him. "Well? Shouldn't we be going?"He gave me a look that promised a long conversation later and started everyone on the path. I didn't want to trust to Thorin's directional skills, so I stayed in the front next to him.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I'm in town with pink eye, but my pain is your pleasure. Here's another chapter. Hopefully someone will review this time. This chapter does take a bit out of the book, just so you know. Also, this story is finished, I'm just polishing up the last few chapters.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters, plot additions, etc. Everything from the Hobbit doesn't belong to me and makes me no money. Sigh.**

It was cursed hard to stay on the path. It was not well maintained, and there was debris all over it. We did all right for the first couple of weeks, but then we came to a deep dark river. We'd been warned about it by Beorn, so no one volunteered to swim it. Thanks to Bilbo's sharp eyes and Fili's strong arm, we were able to cross by boat. Bombur ended up falling in, though, and carrying him was torture for the poor guys. It was as we were getting our meager rations for dinner that night that I suddenly remembered the lembas. They all jumped when I slapped myself in the forehead. They looked at me like I'd gone mad when I started rummaging around in my pack, but they all perked up when I pulled out a package of lembas.

"What's that?" asked Kili. He and Fili were some of the worst sufferers because they were so young. I handed him the packet and said, "split that with your brother. I don't know how much I have, but it'll keep us going a little longer." He unwrapped it and broke it in half. They tentatively took a bite, and then gave the most beautific smiles. "It tastes clean!" said Kili. All of our food had started to taste like the forest, that is, nasty and foul. His statement made everyone look at me like hungry bears. I started passing around packets, one for every two, until I got to Bombur. I looked at him thoughtfully, then skipped him. He had enough fat to sustain him for awhile, at least. That left just me and...Thorin. Everyone else had already found a partner. I had been successfully avoiding him since the second day in the forest when I realized Dwalin was keeping us on course and fell back by Bilbo. I avoided his eyes while I broke a piece in half, but when I looked up to give him his piece, he was moving off, checking on everyone else. He looked back at me and gave a pointed look to the food in my hand. It took me about two seconds to realize he meant for me to eat his share. I was immediately furious. I stomped over to him, oblivious to all the dwarves hastily moving out of my way. I poked him really hard in the back when I caught up to him. He turned around, and I could tell he was angry, but I was not about to back down.

"Don't you dare go being all noble and heroic again, Thorin. There is such a thing as too much self sacrifice. Right now we have the food, and we don't need our leader collapsing from hunger. You will eat your portion, or I will shove it down your throat while you sleep." I paused for a breath and was taken aback by the look on his face. Something I'd said had moved him, but what? I blushed and ducked my head, fully prepared to shove the food in his hands and beat a hasty retreat, but he reached out and gently took my chin as he raised my head. "Am I your leader, then?" His eyes took up my entire field of vision, and all I could do was nod. He favored me with one of his rare smiles, then seemed to come to himself again as Dwalin cleared his throat. I didn't know whether to thank Dwalin or throw a fireball at him. I quickly walked back over by my pack and pulled my blanket out. When in doubt, get out of the situation.

The next week saw us tightening our belts some more and getting more and more dizzy. I think the lack of food was weakening us and letting the forest's influence in. Bombur finally woke up, so we didn't have to carry him anymore at least, but it got harder and harder to remember where we were going, let alone get there. Then came the fateful day when Nori's shout of, "the path. It's disappeared!" marked the end of our relatively safe days. It didn't take long after that for things to get a lot worse. Bilbo shouted something about looking for daylight and started climbing a tree and everyone else started arguing. That's when they struck. Giant spiders, dropping out of the canopy and jabbing us with their stingers. It was a perfect ambush. I remember screaming, then a sharp pain in my back and I was overtaken by blackness.

I woke up falling. I found out later that Bilbo had rescued us and cut us loose. I couldn't seem to get out of my cocoon at first, but I managed to summon up a quick fireball. I burst out onto a scene from a nightmare. Giant spiders were everywhere, and all the dwarves were fighting what looked like a losing battle. Thorin quickly bracketed me on one side, and Dwalin took the other. I could feel that I was all out of fire, so I pulled out my daggers and did my best to help. It was all very confusing, though. Everything was happening so fast, and I was still suffering from that spider sting.

There was a slight pause in the battle, and then new people were running through the trees and killing spiders. Maybe I blinked, but it took them about two seconds to have us surrounded with arrows pointed in our faces. I scowled at the blonde elf who pointed his arrow straight at Thorin and said, "Do not think I won't kill you, dwarf. It would be my pleasure." I blame the fact that I was still a bit high on spider juice, but I started calmly walking up to him. I heard a bow string stretch behind me, but I ignored it as I calmly looked the elf in the eye and said, "Threaten my dwarves again, and I'll see you roasted over a slow fire and fed to the wildlife." I don't know if he said anything in return, because it was at that point that I passed out again. I heard from Ori later that I just went from standing up and glaring at him to crumpling where I stood. Thorin leaped forward and caught me and started frantically checking my vitals. He then did the most un-Thorin like thing I had ever heard of. He asked for help from an elf. He told the elf that we'd gotten lost in the woods and attacked by spiders, and asked that he do everything he could to save my life.

I must have looked really bad. Anyway, the elf "very kindly" took everyone prisoner and marched them back to the elf kingdom. It's probably best that I missed all of that, actually, because aside from insulting everyone he also stole Thorin's sword and called him a thief and a liar. Thorin carried me. The elves didn't really want to, and he didn't trust them enough to let me out of his sight. I woke up just in time to see the awesome doors of the elven home. When I asked to walk, though, Thorin said in the gentlest voice he had ever used with me, "We all know you have enough guts for any ten people. Just this once, let me take care of you." I was surprised, but flattered. I settled down, but I couldn't help blushing.

They walked for a ways before the blonde elf told Thorin his father wanted to speak with him. I was apparently invited, too, because he didn't tell Thorin to put me down. I watched in concern as the rest were split off. I asked blondie, "Where are you taking them?" He replied that they were going to wait in the dungeon. I snorted and muttered, "Beorn was right. Less wise than their kin, indeed." He looked at me sharply, but I just raised one eyebrow and looked down my nose at him, before turning away and ignoring him. I focused on trying to heal myself. The dwarves seemed to be showing no ill effects from the spider venom, but it was bothering me. I felt the usual snap of focus, then looked myself over. It almost made me throw up. The venom was slowly liquefying my organs! No wonder I didn't feel well. I managed to make it go away, but it made me really tired. I put my head on Thorin's shoulder and went to sleep. I woke up after just a short nap when Thorin started yelling at the king.

I yawned loudly and looked around. The most arrogant guy I had ever seen was smirking at me. "Are you sure?" He asked dangerously. "You might last a while in my dungeons, but I doubt she will." I decided to interject at this point. "Oh, it was your fault. I thought Thorin was being his usually undiplomatic self, but apparently you're deliberately antagonizing him. Kind of short sighted of you, I must say. If you treat everyone nicely, they are far more likely to treat you the same way. As it is, you've made no friends here, I can tell." He scowled and interrupted me there, going on and on about past history with the dwarves and how they couldn't be trusted. I listened carefully for about half an hour, mentally cataloging all his complaints. I interrupted when he started repeating himself.

"So, basically you're mad at the dwarves for taking a commission and then upping the price? And because of this, you ignored them when their home got stolen and didn't even help them out with basic supplies or help on their way? I can totally understand why you wouldn't want to help them reclaim their home, but I think it's remarkably shortsighted for someone who's supposed to take the long view. It's kind of like your son. He insults and imprisons random travelers instead of helping them on their way. This creates hard feelings and dislike of elves in general. It's a good thing I met the elves of Rivendell first, or I'd write your entire race off as short sighted, antagonistic narcissists." At this point he looked like he was about to explode, so I figured I'd better wrap things up quick. "You seem to feel you're the greatest person in the world, but you've lost sight of the big picture. I can tell you have no joy in your life anymore, either. To have joy, you must love, and to love you have to actually care about someone besides yourself." I looked at him pityingly. "I feel sorry for you."

I expected him to explode, and I was not wrong. He sneered at me and told me that the advice of a whore was worthless. Unfortunately for him, that set my temper at full burn in less than a second. I jumped out of Thorin's arms, staggered a bit, and stomped towards him with my eyes ablaze. Luckily not literally. Anyway, I made it about three steps, calling him all sorts of rude names and commenting on his probable upbringing and genetics when I fell flat on my face, totally unconscious.

I woke up suddenly, still angry with that arrogant toe rag. I looked around for him so I could continue to give him a piece of my mind. I was lying on a comfortable bed in an otherwise spartan room. What worried me was that there were no dwarves in the vicinity. I would have heard them if there were. Surprisingly, my pack was against one wall. I went through it really fast, and found that most things were still there. All the knives, my fishing hooks, and my daggers were all gone, though. I tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. I opened it and found two elves standing guard outside. I nodded politely at them and asked, "what are the chances of getting a bath around here?" I figured any questions about anything important would be unanswered, but my hair was itching and I wasn't about to retreat to my room like a meek little lamb.

They looked at each other, and then one said, "We will ask, but don't get your hopes up. King Thranduil is less than pleased with you right now." I couldn't help but smirk a bit. "I imagine not. No one likes having their bad behavior pointed out by those they consider inferior. Well, I'm assuming I'm confined to this room?" They nodded with an air of surprise. "All right then. I wouldn't want to get two such nice, polite fellows in trouble, but I'll warn you now that I get bored easily." I went back into the room and shut the door while they were still looking befuddled. I have that effect on people sometimes. I made the bed, then sat on the end thinking about possible plans of action. Setting the place on fire would be an absolutely last resort. I wasn't sure I could knock out the guards, and burning through the walls or floor would surely get their attention.

While I was pondering, a knock came at the door. I opened it found another guard, but this one was female with the prettiest long red hair I'd ever seen. I nodded at her politely and waited for her to say something. She took a moment to look me over, then said coolly, "There is a bath prepared. King Thranduil wishes to speak with you, but not until after you no longer smell like a pig." She was surprised when I smiled at her as I grabbed my pack. "Trust me, it beats the smell of troll." She blinked, but didn't ask until we were out of earshot of the other guards, who were apparently staying at my room. We were walking across what looked like a log hung in thin air when she finally asked how I knew what trolls smelled like. If I couldn't grow wings, I'd have been sweating. I told her all about our encounter with the trolls, only editing out my turning one to goop. She laughed at the part where I vomited down Gandalf's front and I shrugged, "What can I say? Trolls taste terrible." She laughed again.

I went on to tell her about the troll hoard and some of the different things we'd found there. While I was talking, I suddenly remembered my jewelry. I stopped, pulled the pack off my shoulder, and rummaged through it really quick. They weren't there. I snorted and re-slung my pack as I started walking again. "I should have known your king was a thief as well. He really doesn't respect other people very much." She looked like she thought she should be offended, but couldn't help but agree. "I will look into it," she said stiffly. "Oh, don't get all stiff on me again. It's not like I blame you. I rather like elves for the most part, your king and that stuffy blonde elf that captured us being the exceptions." She made a strange sound, kind of like she was choking back a laugh, and said, "That blonde elf is King Thranduil's son Legolas." "Ah. Like father like son, I guess." We shared an amused look before we reached the bathing chamber.

Nice. It had lovely pools of barely moving water and waterfalls in different places. I looked around to make sure there weren't any guys, then quickly stripped and dove into the nearest one. It seemed to be the fastest moving, and I was sure I was covered in dirt again. I rinsed really well, then grabbed my pack and pulled out the soap and special shampoo Simarial had packed for me. It was a shame I hadn't gotten to use it more. I scrubbed three times before I was satisfied and climbed out.

In looking through my pack, I realized that neither of my outfits were really presentable anymore, so I put on a clean set of underwear and my blue dress. I combed my hair out and noticed it had grown another two inches. My hair sure seemed to grow fast in this world. As I was trying to figure out what to do with it, Tauriel reminded me of her presence by coughing lightly. I looked around for her with a smile. She was standing next to the door still, but came toward me when I looked around. "Would you like some help?" she asked. "That would be lovely," I replied. "I used to braid it all the time, but every time I braid it, my dwarves comment on what it is I'm saying." She was quiet for a bit as she pulled a few strands of hair back from the sides of my face and twisted them to meet and hang down in the back. It was simple, but gave an elegant look leaving it loose hadn't.

"You're very fond of those dwarves, aren't you?" I turned and looked her in the eye before answering, "They're the family I never had." I was going to include Bilbo, but I had noticed he'd escaped capture, and I was sure he was sneaking about the place somewhere. I wasn't about to get him caught. The more logical part of me said he had to have been lost in the woods, but I could just feel that he was nearby. She helped me stand, then looked at my bare feet. My boots were battered and no match for the dress. I wrapped them in my cleaner outfit after rinsing them off and stuffed them in my pack. She didn't say anything, but the way back to my room mysteriously passed a storeroom I swear it hadn't before. There were a lot of shoes in a wardrobe against one wall, and she pulled out a few pairs of slippers to try on. We finally settled on a gray pair. They went ok with the dress and would hopefully keep my feet protected.

We finally made it back to the room they were keeping me in, only to find Legolas there looking impatient. He said something in elvish, which made me roll my eyes. His manners had obviously not improved. Tauriel replied in Common, "We took a longer way back. She needed shoes, and it will probably help keep her from learning her way around." I figured that last was for his benefit, but decided it might be just as well if I didn't tell her I had a very good memory indeed.

He huffed a bit, but said to me, "Come along, then. My father wishes you to join him for dinner." I considered saying no, but I did want to have a few choice words with Thranduil anyway. I turned to head back the way we came since it was the only way to get to my room when Legolas said impatiently, "Just leave your pack. It's not like you'll need it." I turned toward him a bit and said, "I'm going to keep it with me. Enough of my valuables have disappeared as it is." Then I continued walking away. I figured he'd catch up eventually, and I knew it infuriated him. I heard him hurrying after me and moved my pack just as he was reaching for it. He tried again and I dodged again. As he tried one more time, I suddenly stopped and executed a swift kick to his groin. Then I whacked him in the head with my pack. I was pretty sure I only succeeded because he'd been so focused on getting it, though.

I turned and looked behind me and saw Tauriel and the guards staring open mouthed. It was always a good day when I could shock an elf. "Tauriel, could you show me the way to the dining hall? This jerk is apparently an even bigger thief than his father." I turned to walk down the tunnel again and found my way blocked by a very angry blonde elf. I arched an eyebrow at him coolly. "How dare you call my father a thief." he hissed. He opened his mouth to start a tirade, but I interrupted. "What would you call someone who steals all your jewelry, your highness? Not to mention waylaying helpless travelers. I call such people bandits. If your father wishes to defend his honor, by all means take me to him. Your lack of manners and general contempt for the personal rights of others isn't going to change my mind."

He paused, took in my appearance, and seemed to hesitate for just a moment. I could tell he was reassessing me. His father had called me a whore, and that's probably what they all thought. It might be logical, considering I was the only female traveling with at least thirteen males, but an elf should have enough experience to know appearances could be misleading. Whatever I had looked like before, I was now dressed as a lady, and I spoke like a lady. I mentally blessed Simarial for sending the dress. There's nothing like looking your best to help you gain confidence.

I could tell he made up his mind to go along with it, because he suddenly flashed a charming smile and swept an elegant bow. "By all means, my lady. I will gladly take you to my father. If you would allow me to escort you, that is?" He extended his arm, and I mentally cursed whatever quirk of the universe had extended that custom here. I didn't want to touch him. I settled for lightly resting my fingers on his forearm instead of hooking my arm though his. He set off at a comfortable pace, and I did my best to live up to the dress. I'd never taken lessons in gliding, but I figured that even if I had I couldn't match the grace of an elf.

We finally entered the dining area, and Legolas escorted me to a seat next to his father. Thranduil looked up, and I took great pleasure in the small signs of surprise I could make out. I was sure getting any sign of emotion from him was the equivalent of getting a shout from anyone else. He was such a cold fish. He got a slight frown line when he saw me carrying my pack, though. He had a quick conversation with Legolas about it in elvish. It ended with one of his eyebrows raised and a considering look toward me. He finally addressed me directly with, "My son says you resisted most profoundly being separated from your belongings and feel that I am a thief. That's an interesting statement from one who is obviously a thief in the company of thieves."

I figured if he wanted to do the coolly insulting thing, I could do it right back. "I fail to see what's so obvious. To me, going through someone's pack and stealing their valuables after forcibly detaining them seems more the act of a thief. If you have some evidence of my thievery or the thievery of my companions, I would hope you'd have enough honor to show it to me." He considered me for a moment, then nodded slightly. He said something to Legolas, who let go of my arm with a bow and left to presumably do his father's bidding. Thranduil quirked his eyebrow a bit at the bow, but indicated the seat next to him and invited me to sit. I quirked an eyebrow myself to show what I thought of his lack of manners, but pulled the chair out myself and settled into softly. My mother's endless lessons growing up had at least been useful in teaching me not to sit down like a sack of potatoes.

I ignored him and set my pack on the ground away from him, next to my feet. I folded my hands in my lap and looked over the dining hall. He must not eat with his court very often, because there wasn't room for more than ten people at this table, and only two of the places were set. I wondered if he'd been planning on eating with Legolas while they interrogated me. I wouldn't put it past him to have me brought here when I was hungry just to rub in the delectable foods I couldn't touch. I continued to study the rest of the room and heard tiny rustlings as he moved. I could tell just from listening that he was getting irritated at being ignored. Point for me.

Legolas returned just as I was sure Thranduil was going to say something. I was disappointed he had spoiled my fun, but perhaps it was for the best. Any discussion between us was bound to get incendiary before many words were spoken. Legolas handed his father a package, then stood back. I was going to let Thranduil speak first, but then I noticed Thorin's sword hanging at Legolas' hip. I shoved my chair back and faced Thranduil with fire in my eyes. "How dare you accuse us of being thieves when your son steals the sword Thorin was given by Lord Elrond and wears it proudly! You are such a hypocrite. I don't know why I expected better. I thought Thorin's stories of the heartlessness of the wood elves were surely exaggerated and warped by the perceptions of youth, but now I see I did him an injustice. You are every bit the greedy, soulless bastard he painted you as!"

Both of Thranduil's eyebrows had gone up at this, but it was Legolas who spoke up. "This sword was forged by my kin. No elf would give a dwarf a sword from Gondolin." I retorted, "Lord Elrond is more kin to those elves than you, and after Thorin found that sword in a troll hoard and brought it to Rivendell, he named it to Thorin and gave it back. It is the Goblin Cleaver, and by right of conquest and friendship, it belongs to Thorin Oakenshield. You have no right to it." They both were staring at me after that impassioned tirade. I suddenly felt tired. I sighed and sat down with my back to Legolas. "Whatever. I can't change the mind of a stone. I can't bring honor to those who have none. I might as well save my breath. Blowing on a wildfire won't put it out." I picked up my fork and started playing with it so it bounced the light.

It took Thranduil three tries to get my attention, and by that time he seemed really irritated again. I guessed that was something – at least I could irritate our captors. My mind had wandered again, and his hand suddenly snapped out and grabbed my chin. My temper flared, and he pulled his hand back with a gasp. It was red and had a few blisters on it. Oops. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to feel sorry for burning him. I looked him in the eye and said, "Keep your hands off my person, or I'll do worse." "What are you?" he asked with a pained whisper. I shrugged and replied, "Just your average woman yanked from her home world by the Valar and dumped on a quest." I went back to playing with my fork while he stared at me in disbelief. It must have been ten minutes before he recovered. He pushed a packet across the table with his good hand.

I opened it and found all my jewelry and the beads I'd given Thorin. I scowled at him as I snatched those up, then paused as I tried to figure out what to do with them. I finally shrugged and quickly braided some hair on the left side of my head and secured them in it. I figured I could ask Thorin for forgiveness later. I then picked up my sapphire necklace and earrings and put them on, as well as my diamond and sapphire rings. I picked up the promise ring and deliberated, but I didn't want to lose it either. I wasn't going to put it on my right pointer finger, though. It went on my left.

Legolas suddenly reached forward and put a small pouch next to me, so I thanked him quietly and shoved the rest of the jewelry in it. Then I paused, dumped it back out, and asked Thranduil, "Do you know where these pieces come from? I forgot to ask my friends in Rivendell, and my dwarves didn't know." I pushed over the final pieces of my jewelry, a heavy ring made of gold with dark blue, yellow, and green jewels strewn across it in what looked like no discernible pattern, a light gold chain with small purple and pink stones evenly spaced across it and a funny hammered gold oval in the middle with a swirly design, and a bracelet made of a single piece of light green stone and carved like a dragon. He looked at me assessingly before poking the chain. "This comes from the sea peoples far to the West. I do not know much about them except that they don't care much for elves. The ring is from a lost nation of men who became the Dunedain rangers. I do not know about the bracelet."

I thanked him politely and put all of them back in the pouch. Then I paused again. That was almost nice of him, and good deeds shouldn't go unrewarded. I sighed and looked at him until he snapped into my vision. I was expecting the hand, but the old scars on his face and arm were a surprise. I quickly yanked myself out of the healing trance before it could even really begin. If I tried to heal those without eating, I just might kill myself. Speaking of which, something smelled delicious. I did my best to eat decorously, but every small bite was a torture. It had been so long since I'd had a proper meal! That thought made me stop in mid bite.

I fiddled with a piece of bread for a moment before Thranduil's voice broke my concentration. "The way you were eating, I thought you half starved. Why do you stop now? You've barely begun." I looked at him and said, "I was just thinking of my dwarves and wondering if they'd eaten. You call me half starved, but I know they were sneaking me bigger portions than they got." I made myself stop there. I had promised myself I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of asking about the Company, but their absence was a constant ache. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, and I had to take a minute to suppress them. When I had control of myself again I looked at Thranduil and was surprised to see a look of respect in his eyes. He gave a slight nod, then turned to a server and said very clearly, "Double the portions of food to the dwarves, and make sure it's edible." I couldn't help it. I gave him a look of pure gratitude before turning back to my plate in embarrassment.

"May I ask about the quest you are on?" Thranduil asked smoothly. I deliberated for a minute before replying, "It is Thorin's quest and he must tell you the particulars, but I can say that he meant no harm to you or yours the last time I talked with him." I knew it was an unsatisfying answer, but I didn't expect Thranduil to try to blackmail me. Perhaps I should have. After all, he had tried to blackmail Thorin with me. He basically told me that if I would get him the gems he wanted from the mountain, he'd let all the dwarves go. What a jerk. Buttering me up by feeding the dwarves, and then trying to play on my gratitude by pumping me for information and inciting me to treachery and thievery.

I gave him a look of pure contempt, put my fork down, and said, "You aren't going to get me to turn on Thorin or his Company. I won't betray them, steal from them, or behave in any such dishonorable way. I realize you don't have any concept of honor, but please quit asking." He scowled, then said smoothly, "Perhaps a few years in my dungeons will change your mind." I shrugged, stood up, and slung my pack over my shoulder. I walked out of the room without a backwards glance. I heard Legolas walking quickly after me, but I made it out before him. I shut the door in his face and jumped off the side of the log bridge. I was pretty sure it was dark enough that no one would see me, but just in case I looked all around before sprouting wings and gently gliding to the nearest bridge. I quickly set off along it and ducked into the nearest room. I shut the door until it was only open a crack and looked all around. Far above, a bunch of lights were boiling around, obviously looking for me. I shrugged and shut the door. I was sure they'd eventually find me, but in the mean time I'd explore and try to figure out where my dwarves and their things were. I quickly changed outfits and tucked all the jewels away in their pouch. I left the promise ring and the beads. Might as well sow confusion among my enemies.

I peaked out again and didn't see anyone even close. They all seemed to be concentrating higher up. I snuck along, peaking in every room I passed. I found one that had a slightly more impressive door. It was a good thing I was careful peaking in, because there were three elves polishing armor and generally puttering around in the armory. I carefully closed the door again and beat a hasty retreat. I slipped around a corner and carefully peaked into the next room. It was a storeroom with plenty of places to hide, which was perfect, since I was pretty sure the lights were getting closer. I saw one place high up on a shelf, but there was no way to reach it. I considered, then grew my wings and flapped while jumping. I tried not to flap too hard so I wouldn't knock stuff over, and I just managed to reach the shelf and pull myself up onto it. It was nice and deep, with just a few old baskets on the front. I put my wings away and slipped behind the baskets. I pushed my pack to the very back and settled in to wait. It took about an hour, but three guards came in and started poking through everything. They seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, but they were pretty thorough. They even shoved arms into all the bags of grain to the elbow. They missed my shelf, though. That was probably because none of them could reach it.

They finally left and the search moved on. I figured it was safe enough, and I was tired, so I went to sleep. I woke up when they came through again. It was a different group this time, but they were even less thorough than the last. I watched until they were gone, then pulled out some lembas and ate a few bites. When I was satisfied, I put it away and curled up and went back to sleep. The last search came through a couple of hours later. I woke up when they came in. They were talking and not sloppy, exactly, but not very careful. I listened to them discuss me and the search and found that everyone was stumped as to where I could have gone, but they were keeping a close eye on the dwarves and waiting for me to contact them. I waited for them to leave and then carefully jumped down. My wings popped out just long enough to slow my descent before vanishing again.

I cracked the door open and saw a yawning elf passing by. Luckily, he didn't notice me. I noticed something, though. He seemed to have two sets of footsteps! Either that or his footsteps had a slight echo. I figured I'd follow him and see where he was going. We went down a series of stairs and ended up in the cellar. He was apparently getting wine for the king, because he asked for some from what appeared to be the wine steward. I ducked behind a rack of wine and let him pass by back upstairs. After he'd passed, I looked at the steward. He'd put his head down on his arms and apparently gone to sleep. I carefully headed back upstairs. I'd only gone a few steps when I noticed that I had an echo now. I carefully retraced my steps to the storeroom and went in. I left the door open until the echo came in, too. Then I shut the door and stood in front of it with my arms across my chest. I was still surprised when Bilbo appeared out of thin air.

I cried, "Bilbo!" and jumped on him to give him a hug. "I was so worried about you!" He shushed me and peaked out the door. Luckily there was no one nearby. I told him everything that had happened to me and he was able to give me word of the dwarves. They had indeed been shut in the dungeon. They were all close to each other, though. Thorin had been brought down after the rest and was steaming. He said that I'd passed out and the elves had taken me away. They all heckled the guards and pestered them every time one came near to find out where I was. Tauriel was really awesome. She'd managed to strike up a conversation with Kili and let him know I was ok and giving Thranduil a headache. She didn't have much time to talk, because shortly after that I'd escaped and extra guards were placed on the dwarves.

Bilbo had managed a whispered conversation with Thorin, who told him to find me if he could. It took him a bit, but now that he'd found me, we could make an escape plan. Bilbo had been all over the upper levels looking for me and had seen some windows high up, but they had sheer drops outside them, so the Company couldn't get out that way. It gave me an idea, though. I mulled it over while Bilbo described some of the rest of what he'd seen. He mentioned the wine cellar and said he had a crazy idea. He told me about the barrels and the river. I agreed it was crazy, but that it was probably the only way. There was a problem, though. Since the elves had posted so many guards, it would be almost impossible to get them out, even with Bilbo being invisible. He'd had to confess about the ring to me, but I figured it was yet another magical thing about this world. If we ever met up again with Gandalf, I'd have to ask him about it.

I thought about it and decided that what we needed was a diversion. Bilbo would hate it, but I could probably get him to go along. The dwarves were liable to make a fuss, though. I really wanted to get the dwarves their clothes at least, but neither of us were sure where they were. Maybe we could find them with some exploring, but with our luck Thranduil had had them burned. Bilbo suggested we look in all the storerooms, and we could do it as long as the elves didn't see any doors opening on their own, but if we were caught it would be entirely up to Bilbo to get us out. I decided I'd better share my crazy idea for a diversion.

"Bilbo, I know you're going to hate it, but just hear me out. What we really need is for me to be caught. They'll relax their guards and we can get the dwarves out. Even if I can't get out with you, you must promise to leave." I had to hold up a hand to stop him from interrupting. "It's almost Durin's day, and if we miss it we'll have to wait a whole year to get into the mountain, and anything can happen in a year. The orcs wouldn't be sitting idle, that's for certain. I'll try to provide a distraction you can use, and with any luck I'll be able to get out a window while you escape out the cellars. If not, I may just have to set the place on fire. Either way, it would be best if the Company wasn't here. Tell Thorin if he objects that if he's still here when I bust out, I'm sure Thranduil would leave them in their little cages to burn."

Bilbo looked like he was trying to think of some way to object, but couldn't come up with any really good reason to. We hashed the plan out a bit more, and I decided we really needed to get supplies to the dwarves somehow. My pack would probably be safer with them, too. I'd keep the outfit I was wearing because it already had holes in the back where my wings had ripped through. Either that or I'd ask for a new one.

The next several days were spent exploring and looking for the dwarves' things. We finally found them in a locked storeroom. What had surprised me was that Bilbo still had his mother's lock picks. With a little experimentation, I got rather good with them. It helped that elven locks weren't too sophisticated. I think they'd relied on magic for too long to keep others out of their realm. If there was magic on the doors, it didn't stop me. It took Bilbo three days to smuggle everything back, and he had to put everything in just a few cells that had better hiding places or two dwarves to block the view of the elves. We couldn't get most of the weapons, but everyone's coats and belt pouches were returned, along with a lot of knives. Most of them probably belonged to Fili, but I figured he could share. We couldn't hide the packs, though. We were finally ready to move the day before some night feast I'd been hearing the elves talk about. It sounded like a good time to get out.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Merry Christmas! Thank you to my one reviewer. It is nice to get feedback. I do have to apologize for Kara in this chapter. I honestly don't know where all the angst came from. She just sort of took off and did her own thing. Do other authors get pushed around by their characters? Also, I have no beta, so I apologize for any errors I've missed.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Hobbit, and apparently my characters own me.**

I told Bilbo I was going to get caught and to let Thorin in on our plan. I also took all the beads out of my hair and put them in my belt pouch, which I handed him to give to Thorin. I kept the promise ring, though. It might help me twist Thranduil's nose. He set off, and I set out for the bathing room. I didn't want to get caught smelling rancid. I was surprised some of the elves hadn't caught me already just on my smell alone. I was a bit jealous of Bilbo, actually. It was a mystery to me how he could go so long with out bathing and smell of nothing worse than dirt.

I stopped by the storeroom Tauriel had taken me to for the shoes, and grabbed a bathrobe before slipping into the bathing chamber. I couldn't see anyone, so I borrowed some soap and quickly scrubbed myself down. I was wearing the bathrobe and finger combing my hair when Legolas walked in. I froze as he started taking his clothes off. I eeped and turned around. He yelled, "Who's there?" "I'll turn myself in if I must, but keep your clothes on! Didn't anyone ever teach you to look before you strip?" I could feel my cheeks flaming. Not the way I'd wanted to be caught, but there was no help for it now. I heard some rustling, and then a cold steel blade was at my throat. I looked over into his curious and rather embarrassed eyes. He had a look of triumph, but it was tempered by disbelief. "You dodge our patrols for days, only to get caught bathing? Why?" I looked defensive. "I happen to like being clean, and if you hadn't started stripping while between me and the door, you'd never have known I was here." He scowled at that and said, "Why don't we make sure you don't disappear again then." He proceeded to pull some thin rope out of his belt pouch and tie my hands behind my back with it. I hoped they didn't plan on keeping me trussed up, because that might put a damper in my plans. Rope should be ok, but if they put chains on me I'd be in real trouble.

Legolas then frog marched me to the throne room and stopped me when I was standing in front of his father's throne. Thranduil looked insufferably satisfied at my trussed up state and said, "So we finally caught our little mouse, hmm?" What is it and people comparing me to animals? And a mouse? Thranduil had no imagination. I just raised my eyebrow and said, "Your son lacks all manners. He entered the bathing room and didn't even check to see if there was a lady present before starting to strip. It embarrassed me so much that I had to break my cover to make him keep his pants on. Such unseemly behavior. I realize he looks like a girl, but until now I didn't realize he saw himself as one." An indignant gasp sounded behind me, but at least Thranduil lost his canary-eating cat look. I wondered what it said about me that I preferred it when men scowled at me? Nothing good, probably.

Thranduil came down his steps, stopping only when he was less than an arms length away. I braced myself for a slap or something like that, but I think he noticed because he abruptly stopped. "We elves know well the differences between men and women, and I assure you my son knows his gender. It seems however, that I have been a neglectful host. We're having a festival tonight. You shall come as my guest. You will see all the splendor of the elves, and you will know your place. Find her something suitable to wear." he turned away, and I figured that last was directed at Legolas, because he drug me away to find Tauriel. He had to send someone for her, though, because she was down guarding the dwarves.

She met us as Legolas was dragging me back to my old room. They had a conversation in elvish that presumably brought her up to date, because her first question was, "Do you still have that lovely blue gown?" "No, it's in my pack which is hidden in a safe place. And no Legolas, I am not going to tell you where. With my luck, your father would just use the chance to confiscate it." Legolas just shrugged and said, "And now you are without it and may never see it again anyway. Well done." I rolled my eyes, but held my peace. Tauriel hesitated, but in the end left by another way. I paused outside my room and looked over the edge. I could see almost all the way down. I let a small frown cross my face and willingly turned to go into the room. Hopefully that would make Legolas think I'd scaled the wall by the dining room and couldn't do it here.

Legolas followed me in, and didn't untie me. I sat on the bed and ignored him until Tauriel came in with a lovely green dress. It was much too low for my tastes, though. I have no intention of flashing my curves to the world. I looked her in the eye and hoped she understood that I wasn't trying to be difficult when I said, "I'm afraid I can't wear that. It;s much too revealing. It's lovely, but on me it would be indecent" She looked at me consideringly, while Legolas just snorted and said something that was probably rude in elvish. I'm sorry, but I'm a bit more busty than the average elf. Not a whole lot, but in that dress it would be noticeable.

"Do you prefer high necks, then?" she asked. "If at all possible, yes. Leggings would also be great, even if they're made to go under a dress. This place is a bit too breezy for me to go without something." She nodded, a smile in her eyes. She left and came back a bit later with an equally lovely light green dress that was high in the front, but low in the back. I guess you can't have everything, and if I had to grow wings, at least the dress wouldn't be ruined. She must have seen my reservations in my look, because she held up a darker green cloak. I smiled in relief. There were dark green leggings to go under it, too. Then I turned to Legolas and pulled my cool reserve around me as I said, "I promise not to try to escape while in this room with Tauriel. Would you untie me and step outside, please? I can hardly get changed with you here."

He sneered a bit, but he untied me. I rubbed my wrists as he walked out of the room. He left with a parting shot of, "Your word is worthless, but Tauriel will make you regret it if you try to escape." I stuck my tongue out at his back and then shook myself. It was nice to get rid of the humorless jerk. I was eager to get out of the bathrobe, though. I'd been squirming inside, worried through the whole conversation that it would slip and reveal something I didn't want to share. I'd probably have nightmares about it later. I quickly changed with my back to the door, just to be on the safe side. When I was done, except for the cloak, I looked up at Tauriel. She smiled and held up a comb. I smiled brightly back and sat on the end of the bed.

"You could probably stand," she said. "You're so short that reaching your head would be no problem." "I gave her a mischievous look and said, "I think I'm just the right height, thank you. You're the one who is too tall." I was surprised when a look of sorrow passed her face. "What'd I say? Really, Tauriel, I'm sorry! You are just the right height and beautiful. Don't be sad!" She smiled and replied, "It's nothing. I was just thinking of something else, is all." Suddenly things just fell together in my head like pieces of a puzzle. Talking to Kili, being on guard duty when Legolas called, being sad about being tall. OK, I might have been stretching, but it sure seemed likely. "Tauriel, forgive me for asking, but are you in love with Kili?" She blushed and stammered out a half hearted denial. "It's ok if you are. He's a sweetheart and would make you a good match, I think. Don't worry about height." I got a wicked impulse that I could just feel spreading a smile across my face. "You could always bend to kiss him or sit in his lap. There are ways to get around height differences."

I enjoyed watching her blush spread, but after declaring it quite impossible, she started asking questions about him. She started combing my hair and putting it up in a complicated series of little braids that made a net over my head and pulled up in the back, just leaving a few wisps around my face free. I told her all sorts of stories about Kili, and soon had her laughing. Legolas came in and interrupted our fun after about half an hour, though. Killjoy. He looked me up and down like I was a bug and declared me to be passable. I just raised an eyebrow and pulled the cloak on.

Then I turned toward him and put my wrists together while raising an inquiring eyebrow. He pulled out the cord, but at least he left my arms in front of me this time. I thanked Tauriel for her help and turned to follow Legolas. She followed us down the log again until we reached an intersection, then turned to go another route. Legolas led me to his father's private dining hall again. Thranduil was again seated at the head of the table, but this time there was no invitation to sit next to him. I ignored his rudeness and looked him over. He was dressed splendidly in a flowing silver outfit with red highlights to match his funky crown. I didn't think to mention it earlier, but it had to be the weirdest crown I'd ever seen. It went around the back of his head without ever crossing his forehead. It looked like a bunch of sharpened sticks pointed outward with autumn leaves mixed in. It was really cool looking, but if anyone fell on him they'd probably impale themselves.

He seemed intent on ignoring me, so I mentally shrugged and looked around. Legolas was wearing a nice silver outfit, too, I noticed. I mentally compared Thranduil's and Legolas' outfits with Lord Elrond's elves and decided I liked Elrond's better. I ended up looking straight at a wall while I thought about the different fashions I had seen since being here. I liked all of them to a certain extent, but I was really missing the dwarves' more rustic look, furs and all. I was even missing their beards. Half the elves, I had to take a second or even a third look to decide what gender they were. Of course, Gloin's wife had a beard, so maybe they wouldn't be any easier to tell apart.

I was deep in thought about such weighty matters when Thranduil cleared his throat to get my attention. I turned towards him slightly and raised an eyebrow. "You will join us for the festivities, I hope? I won't have to worry about you running off?" I gave him my best insincere smile and replied, "It depends on what these festivities entail. I probably won't stay if they make me uncomfortable. If you're worried about my escaping, though, I would recommend posting extra guards or confining me to my room. I will never promise you not to try to escape and free my dwarves." "Oh? And why didn't you free them the last time you escaped?" I let him have his smug, superior attitude and even stroked his ego a bit when I replied, "You posted too many guards. I will freely admit that I am no match for even one guard in physical combat, but I can beat any three of you in stealth." I raised my chin defiantly, just in case he thought I would let any such weakness stop me. He smirked insufferably, and promptly assigned Tauriel, Legolas, and three other guards to keep a very close eye on me. I sniffed, but let disappointment show in my eyes just briefly. Did I mention I took some acting classes? They were certainly coming in handy.

"So, what are the plans for tonight then, Thranduil? Do you want Legolas to escort me, or am I to be dragged in as part of the entertainment?" he smirked again and said, "Oh, no my lady."The sarcasm practically dripped off his tongue. "I will be your escort for the evening. We'll see where things go, shall we?" I rolled my eyes, but deliberately ignored his innuendo. If he'd forgotten the blisters from the first time he'd touched me, I wouldn't mind giving him a round two. Still, I behaved myself while Legolas untied me. I turned to Thranduil and raised an eyebrow. He gestured, and a slender elf maid brought forward a small chest. Inside was a bunch of different jewelry. I looked at him, confused. He said, "Go ahead and pick something. It is the Festival of Starlight. It would be a shame for you to attend with nothing to reflect their light." "OK, I don't think I'll ever understand this guy." I thought. I looked through, then picked up a single large diamond hanging on a gold chain and looped it over my head. It rested about an inch below my collarbones and emphasized my curves a bit. I picked a small gold chain with tiny diamond droplets evenly spaced around it for my left wrist, and picked a gold ring with a star shaped cluster of diamonds that I slipped on my right ring finger. I left the promise ring on my left pointer.

I turned towards Thranduil and spread my arms while raising an eyebrow. He nodded in satisfaction, but frowned a bit when he noticed the promise ring. I guess he decided not to open that can of worms, though, because he just extended his left arm. I rested the fingers of my right hand on it, and followed him to the very top of his kingdom. We walked up a ton of stairs and through a few tunnels and finally came out into a wide open space that was bathed in starlight. There were a few torches as well, but they had been treated to glow white instead of yellow. It was beautiful and ethereal. The guards he'd assigned me mingled inconspicuously with the crowd as he made his way to the high table. He sat in the center with me on his right and Legolas on his left. Everyone sat after he did, and the feast got started. I didn't eat anything I didn't see him eat first, but surprisingly enough, I still enjoyed it. We talked of inconsequentials, such as the constellations or the history of Gondolin. I think he was surprised that I was interested.

After dinner the music started, and I just sat quietly, enjoying it. All else can be crazy, but music will always make me smile. I was surprised when Thranduil asked me to dance, but accepted graciously. The dress was just short enough that I didn't step on it. He was really good, which wasn't surprising when I got thinking about it. He was how old, anyway? When you live for hundreds if not thousands of years, I imagine you can pick up a lot of skills. He bowed over my hand at the end, and I could tell I surprised him when I swept him a curtsy and thanked him for the dance. Legolas came up then and asked my hand for the next dance, and I was swept away. I was passed from elf to elf and decided that yes, they were all good. Eventually, I had to plead exertion as I was overheating. I took the opportunity to lean against the railing on a balcony. The sun was just coming up, and I was worried Bilbo hadn't been able to pull it off. Suddenly, a guard came running in and whispered something in Legolas' ear. He ran off with Tauriel close behind, and my guards started drifting in my direction. I looked around and found Thranduil eyeing me narrowly. I smiled at him, then swiftly turned and jumped over the railing of the balcony. I pulled my cloak around and snapped my wings out, turning my fall into a steep dive. I skimmed down over the river just out of bow shot and saw a nightmare.

The dwarves were out, all right, but they were bottle necked just under a bridge. Kili was pulling a lever when an orc shot him in the leg. He got back to the barrel just in time. What followed was a hectic tumble down the river with orcs attacking the barrels and elves attacking the orcs. The dwarves were doing better than they might have, though. They were all dressed warmly and each had at least one knife. They took axes and swords off the orcs they fought, too. The river was going so fast, that I suddenly realized I'd have to actually fly if I was going to keep up. I did my best and actually started to get the hang of it. I managed to gain a bit of altitude just as an orc started shooting at me. I dodged frantically, but felt a sharp pain in my shoulder as an arrow struck home.

I closed my wings and dove, snapping them open again just before the river. I overshot the dwarves a bit, which was a good thing as Bifur snagged me out of the air and tossed me in an empty barrel. I managed to get in feet first, but felt the arrow snap off as it hit the side of the barrel going over a rapid. I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming and just hunkered down. I was so happy to be back in the Company. I peeked out in time to see Thorin throw a sword to save Legolas' life. He always seemed to surprise me. I waved at Legolas weakly as we floated away. His shocked face was the last thing I saw before we swirled around a bend.

It seemed to take an eternity, but finally the bumpy wet ride was over. I was helped out of my barrel by Dwalin and Nori. I thanked them before I staggered over to sit on a rock. I was surrounded by dwarves, all cheering and patting my back. It was so touching, I couldn't help but burst into tears. They all were shocked, and then Fili noticed the blood leaking down my arm. He shouted for Oin, and Thorin came forward as well. He'd been hanging back for some reason, but apparently his worry overcame his reticence. Oin looked me over and announced that the arrow would have to be pushed through. I looked up at Thorin and held up my right hand in a silent plea for him to brace me. His eyes softened, and he grabbed my hand with his and held my elbow with his other. I buried my face in his shoulder and bit down on his coat as Oin suddenly pushed. It was excruciating, but I managed not to scream. Crying was another matter, though, and I could feel the tears pouring down my face. I pulled back when Oin said something about dressing it, though.

"Wait. Let me see what I can do, please? You should look at Kili, anyway. He got shot in the leg." Oin nodded, and went to see to Kili while I rested my head back on Thorin's shoulder and did my best to ignore how good he smelled. Finally, I was able to get my focus in place. I just about threw up looking at the darkness trying to spread through my system. The hole was easy to heal up, but I spent long minutes fighting off the darkness. When I finally came out of it I was limp for a few minutes, just resting. I was surprised and absurdly pleased to feel Thorin's arm around my back holding me up. There was something wrong with me, and it had to do with him. I liked him way too much.

I shoved that aside as I heard Kili's pained voice. I was suddenly panicked. If he was shot with the same kind of arrow, he was in more trouble than he knew. I twisted so I could see him and saw that they had the arrow out, at least. I concentrated and he snapped into focus. I didn't even try to close the hole, I just went to battle. It took even longer with him, and I was totally spent afterward. I couldn't even raise my arms, but I smiled at him. He smiled back, but then his expression morphed to one of concern. "Are you all right?" He asked. "I'll be fine, Kili. I just used up all my energy is all. Those arrows were poisoned. Does anyone have any food? Lembas if possible?" I'd discovered it renewed my energy faster than almost anything else.

Bilbo went through my pack and pulled out my second to last packet. I ate the whole thing and felt like I might actually be able to stand sometime in the next year instead of the next century. Just when I thought we might actually have found a calm moment, Thorin stiffened behind me. I turned to see what he was looking at and saw a scruffy looking guy holding a bow on us. Dwalin grabbed a branch and stood between us, but when he started to swing it, the bowman shot an arrow through it and then shot a rock out of Kili's hand. I had to hand it to him; he was an amazing shot. He said, "Do it again, and you're dead." I could tell he didn't really want to kill us, at least.

I was tired, cold, and wet and really in no mood to be diplomatic. Luckily Balin stepped in. He got the bowman to stand down and started getting us a ride into Laketown. He hit a snag, though, when Bard mentioned he knew where the barrels came from and that the master of the town would sooner see us in irons than risk Thranduil's wrath. I whispered to Thorin, "I would not have us enter the town as thieves in the night. Could we just bargain for a ride to the far shore?" He whispered back, "We need supplies. It is getting towards winter, and all we have are the clothes on our backs. We can try testing the master, though. If he's as greedy as I've heard, he may just strike a deal with us." I looked up at him, worried. "And if he doesn't?" He gave a crooked smile and said, "We'll have Bilbo get us out." Then he talked with Balin and the bowman, whose name turned out to be Bard. I wondered idly if he liked music, or if the word meant the same here.

Anyway, Bard agreed to take us to town, but he warned us the bribe would have to be substantial. I figured that if I had to, I'd use some of my jewels. Not the ones Thranduil gave me, though. I had every intention of returning those to him as soon as possible. Besides, bribing the master to ignore us with jewels from Thranduil would probably be seen as a colossal insult to the proud elf. I still had no idea how his mind worked, but if it could be taken as insulting, I'm sure he would. I put them away in my pack and started pulling out my other jewels, but Thorin stopped me. He informed me that any bribing would be taken care of by the dwarves. I tried to argue with him, but he's probably the stubbornest person I've ever met. We got into the boat and headed toward Laketown soon after that.

It was humiliating, but Thorin had to carry me. I had no strength. Bilbo was very concerned and asked, "Why are you so tired? They weren't such big wounds, and you didn't even heal Kili's. Was the poison that bad? Will you be ok?" I smiled at him and replied, "I don't know what it was, but it was like a cloud of darkness trying to take over our very souls. We'll be ok now, but I am exhausted. I'm surprised I haven't already passed out." They all expressed concern and while the hullabaloo was going on, Bard interjected, "Strange company you keep, lady." The dwarves all stiffened, but I laughed. "It is a strange Company, with dwarves, a hobbit, and me, but it is good company."

He held his peace after that, and then they started getting the money together to pay him. It wasn't too hard, since many of them seemed to have emergency cash sewed somewhere about their persons. I felt a little more optimistic about our ability to bribe the master. That optimism was shattered almost as soon as we reached the docks. The dock master was a nice enough fellow, but the master's chosen representative was a weasel if ever I saw one. Apparently he was called Alfred. I could tell Bard detested him, and I agreed. Nasty little man.

He took in our disheveled state, and ordered us dragged before the master. If I'd had any energy, I'd have given him a piece of my mind, or maybe a fireball. One fireball wouldn't make me pass out, surely? I tried lifting my arm, but Thorin caught it, and haughtily said, "I wouldn't try any dragging if I were you. It is to speak to your master that we have come, but you'll not find us allies if you treat us as enemies of the state." Alfred sneered, but he led us to the master's house. Before we left the docks, Thorin turned to Bard and said, "Thank you for your assistance bow master." he looked at Gloin and jerked his head at Bard. Gloin didn't get it at first and said, "Thorin?" "Give the man a reward, Gloin. I remember those who aid me." Gloin pulled out his purse and gave Bard some silver, but I could tell something was going through his head that had nothing to do with money. He thanked Thorin absently, then pushed his barge away.

As we headed for the master's house, I heard whispers starting up all over. We soon had a huge crowd following us. I heard something about "the lord of silver fountains" and "gold", so I hoped we weren't about to be mobbed. Thorin noticed my unease and called, "Dori!" When Dori came up, he passed me to Dori and said, "stay close." I guess he wanted to have his hands free in case we had to fight. I noticed Dwalin, Fili and Kili flanked us and the rest did their best to flank them. When we got to the master's house, they formed a semi circle to keep the townsfolk at bay.

Alfred went in at the door, but closed it behind him. We were kept waiting for quite some time while the muttering mob grew disturbingly large. Finally the master came out. He had apparently been either sleeping or drinking, because his eyes were all puffy and he seemed distinctly irritated. Alfred informed him that Bard had brought us in and that we appeared to be escapees from the elves. He called the dwarves, "a desperate bunch of mercenaries" and I didn't appreciate when he added, "and their whore." I tried to get down, but Dori held fast and all the dwarves growled. It was Dwalin who stepped forward and said, "You do not know to whom you speak. He gave Thorin a flowery introduction, and then ended with, and this lady is no whore. She is a great lady of the north entrusted to our care by the wizard, Gandalf the Gray. Have a care how you speak."

Thorin went on to play on their greed by reminding them of days of old, when the town had been an economic hub and very wealthy. I felt bad, seeing the hope and desperation on so many faces. These people had nothing, and were desperate to improve their lives and the lives of their children. I had disliked the master just from his manner, but after seeing those faces, that dislike grew to a flame. I could tell he'd never missed a meal in his life, but too many of the faces around me were half starved, including the children. I was thinking about that when Thorin was interrupted by Bard. "Death, that is what you will bring upon us. Dragon fire and ruin. If you awaken that beast, it will destroy us all."

He had a point. We'd do our best not to wake up the dragon, but the chances of stealing something from it and having it stay asleep were slim. If it woke up, depending on how powerful it was and how mad we made it, it could do some serious damage. Thorin replied with another play to their greed, promising them a share of the wealth of the mountain. They were all cheering when Bard gave his last impassioned plea for them to listen. He reminded them of Dale and the ruin the dragon had caused there. He called Thorin a king full of blind ambition, and I could tell he was winning some of them over. Help came from an unexpected source, though, when the master stepped in and reminded people that it was Bard's ancestor that had failed to kill the beast, though he shot at it many times. Bard replied that he'd hit it and loosened a scale, and if he'd been able to take one more shot we'd be down a dragon. I could tell that the master really hated Bard, partially because he was a great leader and had the hearts of the people, and if he pushed he could topple the master. Still, they'd given me an idea. "Excuse me!" I had to yell to be heard over all the crowd, but I got people's attention. I made Dori put me down, but I held onto his arm. "I have seen this man's skill with a bow, and know him to be a good man who only cares for the welfare of this people. Will you send him with us, as a boon? He may well succeed where his ancestor failed. If by some miracle that dragon is still alive and we waken it, he could be your insurance that it won't come here." I looked right into the master's eyes so he knew I was talking to him. Alfred just had to butt in, though. "Why should we listen to a woman, and one of questionable virtue at that?" He was going to say more, but I'd had enough. I summoned fire onto my hand and took a step toward him. Bilbo told me later I looked scarier than a dragon. "Whore am I? I'll have you learn your place, worm. I am no mere woman. I am a colleague of Gandalf's and have power of my own. I just spent the last day battling orcs and fighting demons, but if you care to test me, I'll find the strength to fry up a weasel." The fire around my hand billowed high for a second before I closed my hand and put it out.

There was dead silence. I looked around and saw looks of terror on most faces. The master looked like he was trying to decide if ordering all his guards to skewer me was a good idea, and I figured I'd better head that off before it got going. "What? Did you really think thirteen dwarves and a hobbit would take on a dragon without insurance?" That got them thinking in the right direction, anyway. I was an ally, not a threat. Well, except to Alfred. I gave him another disgusted look before turning to the master with a look of polite interest on my face. "Are you their leader, then?" he asked. I could tell he was starting to judge the dwarves and that bothered me. "Heavens, no! They could probably take care of the problem without me, but my friend Gandalf wanted them to have a back up plan. Our leader is Thorin Oakenshield, as it should be." Bilbo also told me later that I had a look of besotted adoration on my face at that point, but I think he was teasing me.

Thorin stepped forward and said, "I speak to the master of the men of the Lake. Will you share in the vast wealth of our people? What say you?" I could tell he had him, and he confirmed it when he threw open his arms and said, "I say unto you, welcome! Welcome and thrice welcome, King under the Mountain!" Dori scooped me up again and carried me inside, where there was soon a huge feast laid out and quite the party. I ate a ton of food, but I went very easy on the drink. Who only had alcoholic beverages for dinner, anyway? Thorin sat next to me, and the master was next to him. I had to put up with several hours of the master's brown nosing, but I wasn't about to leave Thorin alone with him and weasel guy.

I did whisper to Nori to make sure no one overindulged as he passed by. I told him to remind them that we weren't necessarily among friends. I was determined to stay the whole time, but I must have passed out, because I came to when I was jostled a bit. I blinked and focused on something blue and furry. I was being rocked back and forth and finally caught on that someone was carrying me somewhere. It couldn't be anyone I didn't know, though, because my subconscious was telling me to go back to sleep and that we were very content indeed. That actually made me a bit wary. I looked up and gulped a bit. Thorin was carrying me. I was no longer exhausted past all thought, though, so I realized that while this was very comfortable, he was confusing me even worse. Every time I turned around, he did something that made me like him more. That was dangerous! He was a king, and I knew that caring for him would only end in heartbreak.

I started to struggle to make him put me down, but he just very firmly squeezed a bit and said, "Hush now. We'll be there in just a minute." I looked up into his eyes, and found myself blushing furiously. I quickly ducked my head down and into his shoulder again, but that didn't really help. It just reminded me of how awesome he smelled. I looked around and found most of the dwarves and Bilbo were following us. How embarrassing! They all seemed to have knowing looks on their faces, and a few gave me cheeky grins, Kili and Bilbo among them. I started counting and found Bofur, Bifur and Nori were missing. Since this gave me a starting point for a conversation and I was worried about them, I turned to Dwalin, who was right behind us, and asked after them. He said Nori and Bifur were retrieving Bofur, since he'd apparently had too much to drink. He seemed really subdued, though, and I could tell something was bothering him, so I asked if he was all right. He gave me a bittersweet smile and said, "Aye, everything is fine, lass." Then he turned and started talking to Balin. It made me worry more, but I couldn't make him talk to me.

"We're here," rumbled in my ear, and I turned to see that we were following two guards. They showed us into a really nice house and said to make ourselves at home. As soon as we were inside and the door was shut, I asked Thorin to put me down. He said that no, we needed to talk. The sentence set off warning bells in my head, but I figured it would be best to get the painful, "We're just friends talk" out of the way. No way was I letting him carry me, though. I agreed, but I still tried to get down. He finally gave in and turned to go up the stairs. He opened the first door we came across and was going to go in, but there was no way I was having a conversation about romance in a bedroom. Even if it was unromance. I kept going past him up the stairs and finally came to a study. It was perfect! There were even two chairs in front of the fire.

I sat in one as he shut the door. He came in, pulled the other chair closer, and took my hands in his. I started to hyperventilate. He looked nonplussed and let go. As soon as I was breathing normally again, he started talking. I was again grateful for the bluntness of dwarves when he started with, "I have come to love you over these months together. Will you honor me by accepting my suit?" The first part made me inexplicably happy, but the second part just confused me. "You have a suit?" This made him confused, but I guess he decided to assume it was because I was ignorant of dwarf customs, so he explained, "Accepting my suit means that you agree to let me court you. We court for a period of three months to three years to see if we suit each other, and then you say yay or nay to marrying me."

I was bursting with happiness, but I figured I should point a few things out to him that he might have missed or dismissed because we were on quest, but that would surely be important to him later. "Thorin, that would make me very happy, but I should remind you that you are a king, and should therefore marry someone suitable. No matter what you said about me being a lady, in this world I have nothing. I have no people to form an alliance with and no wealth to bring to your people. I'm also not a dwarf. I'm pretty sure that your people will hate me for that alone." he had pulled back behind a cold mask during my little speech, which hurt my heart to see. "Do you not wish to marry me, then?" I couldn't answer. The truth was, I found I wanted to very much. Still, I didn't belong here. I didn't belong anywhere. I looked down at my hands and fiddled with the promise ring a bit, before a large hand suddenly reached out and stilled mine. "Do you love me?" He asked in the softest voice I'd ever heard from him. I looked up into his eyes, and I could feel my heart shouting yes! He seemed to see it in my eyes, too, because he leaned forward to kiss me.

We were both surprised when I jerked back. I jumped to my feet and stood trembling. I would have fled out the door, but he still had hold of my hand. His face started closing over again when I thought, what the hey, once won't hurt. I leaned forward quickly, kissed him, and then yanked my hand away and fled. When I opened the door, a whole bunch of dwarves fell on the floor, but I was too flustered to stop. I just jumped over them and continued down the stairs. I may have stepped on a few on the way by. I ran into the first bedroom I saw and slammed the door behind me. Luckily, it locked, because a few minutes later, someone started knocking on it. I didn't answer and Thorin said, "We haven't finished our conversation, Kara. I never took you for a coward."

It was too much. All my emotions came bubbling out in a raging torrent. "I am a coward! I've never let anyone get close to me in my life, and then you all came along and made me feel like I actually belonged somewhere, but I don't! I never have, and I never will. There's something wrong with me, Thorin. You can't love me! My own parents didn't love me. There's something wrong with me, and I won't hurt you by asking you to be with me. Go find a lovely dwarrowdam with a fine beard who can make you happy. I'll just hurt you, Thorin." I was whispering at the end, and I could feel the tears pouring down my cheeks, but I knew he'd be better off without me.

There was dead silence for about thirty seconds, and then an ax splintered the latch into kindling. I backed away from the door as Thorin stepped through it. He kicked it shut behind him, and leaned the ax against it. He came toward me very deliberately. I backed away until my back hit the wall, but he just kept coming until he was well withing my personal space. Then he reached up, put his hand behind my neck, and pulled my head down for a kiss. It was blistering, and I felt like I was on fire. A few minutes later, he pulled back and looked into my eyes. He had a smouldering, smug look, but it morphed to surprise. I was still trying to get my brain to work in some fashion again when he asked, "Did you shrink?"

I blinked. What an odd thing to say! Then I realized that even though I was standing straight, his eyes were no longer level with my nose. Quite the opposite, actually. My eyes were on the perfect level to stare at his lips. Quite nice lips they were, too. I leaned up and kissed him again, and he seemed more than willing to go along with it. After that delicious kiss, I just hugged him, perfectly content. My brain was still not working right, because I told him, "I love you, Thorin. I would love nothing better than to marry you." Then tears started flowing as I pulled back and looked up at him, "I'm not good enough for you, though." he softly kissed my nose, before wiping away the tears. "No, lady, it is I that am not good enough for you."

We might have stood there all night if the door hadn't fallen open. Luckily the ax got pushed behind it, because Fili and Kili fell through it. The others were pretending like they hadn't been listening, but Fili and Kili cheered and charged. I ducked behind Thorin, who caught them both before they could squish me. It was amazing how much more intimidating the guys could be when they were taller than me. They seemed like they were going to try to come hug me anyway, but then they got a good look at me. They looked puzzled, and Kili said, "How did you shrink her, uncle?" Everyone had to see after that comment, so soon the room was crowded with dwarves. Dwalin, Balin, Bofur, and Bombur had the good manners to stay out and just crane their necks, but everyone else came in, even Bilbo.

Thorin pulled me around in front of him, but he held me protectively and said, "All right, you've seen. Now go get ready. Tomorrow we leave for the mountain." Bilbo was the last one out and closed the door behind him, but not before giving me a mischievous smile. I looked nervously up at Thorin as he turned me around. He just smiled gently and said, "We can take as long as you need courting, but my intention is to marry you, Kara. As long s you love me, I will never give you up." I blushed and ducked my head, but I couldn't help but smile.

He reached down and took the hand with the promise ring on it and smiled. "Do you want to know what the left pointer means?" I nodded. Thranduil had been acting oddly, and I'd wondered if it had anything to do with the ring. "It means someone has asked you to court, and you haven't made up your mind to accept yet. May I move it?" I nodded with a lump in my throat. That did explain a few things, like why Thranduil had acted all flirty in a cold and superior way. He was trying to turn me against the dwarves. Didn't surprise me. It also didn't surprise me that he was so bad at it.

Thorin took the ring off and put it over my left ring finger. "This means that we are courting and fully intend to marry. Is this one acceptable to you, my lady?" I couldn't answer, but I nodded. He put it on and then kissed me gently. He must have been able to tell I was wrung out and emotionally as well as physically exhausted, because he said he'd let me rest and go arrange supplies. I slept the whole night through, and when I woke up, there was a merchant in the front room with a number of premade outfits. The guys had all apparently gotten all their stuff in order already, even Bofur, and were just waiting for me. I went through them as quickly as possible. Most were way too big or unsuitable for a quest. I discarded all the dresses and most of the rest of them before settling on a couple of outfits she'd thought Bilbo might like. Two pairs of trousers, two shirts and vests, and a few underthings and socks that I was grateful she'd included. Thorin had me try on a couple of different pairs of boots he'd found until we found a pair that would suit. One coat and a belt later, and I felt ready to go.

I was just in time to head out with the Company for the big send off. I felt so much better. I packed the green dress in the bottom of my pack and gave the lady the green cloak. I know it was silly of me to take it with me, but it was beautiful and I'd loved it. I'd have to have it totally redone if I ever wanted to wear it again, though. Once everything was in its place and we were all loaded up with supplies, we followed a guide down to the docks. The master expressed his regrets that Bard couldn't come with us, but he was apparently needed by the town. I was a bit suspicious of this, but pretended to go along with it. "Good idea!" I said heartily. "If the mountain starts shaking, put him up somewhere high. He'd probably have the best luck if he was free to pick the spot, though. Well, Good luck! We'll see you when this is all over!" He managed to refrain from commenting on my changed height. Maybe he just didn't want to know.

We all piled into the boat and were finally on our way. As we crossed the lake to the mountain, I could see the homesickness and yearning that came to the dwarves' faces. Thorin's was the worst. I knew he saw the mountain as the way to ensure his people had a good home. There was something else that slowly entered their faces as we got closer, though, and it made me uneasy. It was something like obsession, but even darker. I turned to look at the mountain and it snapped into focus for me. I could tell there was something in there exuding darkness. It saturated all the area around the mountain. It coiled around the dwarves, touching the part of them that was linked to the mountain. I tried to push it away, but it must have been too far away because I couldn't do anything. I staggered for a moment as I snapped out of it. Thorin steadied me and looked concerned, so it hadn't gotten to him too badly yet. I feared for him once we got into the mountain, though.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Two chapters in two days! Merry Christmas! Sorry about the cliffhanger. It's really hard to figure out where to break when everything just flows together.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Hobbit, and apparently my characters own me.**

We hiked forever it felt like before we came up over a rocky ridge and saw the ruins of Dale. They were very impressive in a sad way. Dale had obviously been a large city, and it had been destroyed and abandoned. There were only ruins left. Bilbo asked about waiting for Gandalf, but Thorin told him there was no time to wait for the wizard. We only had a day left. As we got closer, everyone started hunting for the secret door. It was Bilbo and his sharp eyes who spotted the staircase. It was not an easy climb. It got a little better once we passed the first geometric pattern, but that first part made me very glad to have wings. No one fell, but it was a close thing sometimes. Thorin was getting more and more obsessed with getting into the mountain. I doubted he'd have waited for anyone, even Fili and Kili.

We finally made it the the ledge, and I sat and watched as the dwarves went a little mad. Dwalin and Nori tried to find the door first, Nori by tapping and listening, and Dwalin by hitting and kicking it. Finally they all attacked it with axes. As the sun finally set, they all seemed to lose hope. Even Balin and Thorin gave up, Thorin dropping his key and shoving the map at Bilbo. Bilbo was protesting, and I walked over and picked up the key, then sat down and waited. Thorin finally looked around for me as he was leaving, and after making eye contact, indicated I should join him in leaving. I smiled at him gently and said, "Durin's day isn't over yet. Did any of you think that maybe all you had to do was sit and be quiet while you waited?"

He paused, and then walked back over and sat next to me. I reached out and took his hand as the others all quietly gathered by the stairs again. Then we waited. After just a short while, the moon came out from behind a cloud. At the same time, a little bird flew up by the rock and started banging a snail on it. I held my breath as the moonlight shifted until we could see a key hole. I handed Thorin his key, and he quietly went up and tried it. It turned, and with just a gentle push, the door slid open.

The dwarves were reverent as they entered Erebor for the first time in so long. Balin was almost in tears. Thorin said, "I know these walls, these halls, this stone. You remember it Balin. Chambers filled with golden light." Balin nodded and said, "I remember." All the dwarves quietly walked into their home. They marveled at what looked to me like perfectly ordinary rock, but I never took geology, so what did I know. When we got far enough in, we noticed an inscription. I couldn't read it, but Gloin read it aloud. "Herein lies the seventh kingdom of Durin's folk. May the heart of the mountain unite all dwarves in defense of this home." It sounded very poetic, but I was with Bilbo. What is it? It was called the Arkenstone, but when Bilbo asked again, "what is that?", Thorin answered, "That, master burglar, is why you are here."

That did explain a few things. I'd wondered what they could possibly need out of a dragon's nest that would require a burglar, and there was my answer. A stone that would apparently let them call all dwarves to fight the dragon. I still wasn't convinced it was a good plan, and after seeing Laketown I liked it even less. If they did by some miracle get the stone, what's the point of calling a bunch of dwarves who wouldn't want to come anyway? And if they did get rid of the dragon, what's to stop someone from stealing the stone and commanding the dwarves to do something else? It didn't seem like a very good system to me.

Balin said he'd guide Bilbo as far as he could, and the two set off. It was a very tense silence as we waited. Balin came back and said that he'd offered Bilbo the chance to back out, but that he wanted to at least try. I couldn't help it. I started pacing. Back and forth, back and forth. I didn't realize it was more forth than back until Thorin walked after me and caught my hand. He led me back to the others. I stopped about six feet away and refused to move any closer. The mountain was shaking! Apparently there was a very much alive dragon in this mountain, and Bilbo was down there with it!

I tried to jerk my hand free, but Thorin held fast. There was something off about him. The darkness must be taking hold. Balin wanted to go after Bilbo, but Thorin said he wouldn't risk the quest for the life of one burglar. Balin chastised him and reminded him that the burglar's name was Bilbo. I took the more direct approach. I bit his hand and when he jerked away, I took off down the tunnel. The dwarves followed me more slowly. I have to say, all the running on this adventure had made me rather good at it.

I got to the treasure chamber just in time to see a huge dragon menacing Bilbo. It seemed to be whispering to him. I caught the words, "drive him mad" and paused. Drive who mad? The gold would drive Thorin mad? I could tell it was already working. What did Smaug know? I never got the chance to find out, as he tried to have Bilbo for dinner. Bilbo vanished right before the dragon ate him. I'd be worried he'd actually caught Bilbo, but he was frustrated, thrashing around and torching things. Quite the impressive fire, actually.

I was just heading down some steps when Thorin grabbed me from behind by my left wrist. He jerked me back and I was actually scared by the look on his face. "What do you think you are doing," he hissed. "Your place is with me. You must stay safe." Despite my fear, I raised an eyebrow and said, "You don't own me Thorin. Snap out of it, will you? We have to find Bilbo." His face darkened, and he opened his mouth to retort, but I'll never know what he was going to say because Bilbo came running up the stairs behind us. Thorin was relieved to find him alive, but then asked if he had found the Arkenstone. Bilbo looked confused for a second and replied, "No, we have to get out." He tried to pass Thorin, and Thorin blocked his way with the sword he held in his other hand. I fought to get away, but it was like being caught by a stone troll again. His fingers were that stiff. He started menacing Bilbo with the sword, backing him up step by step.

Who knows what would have happened if he hadn't been distracted by the dragon. The others chose that moment to rush onto the walkway we were on and yell challengingly at the dragon. He roared back, and I have to say, his was more impressive. He yelled, "You will burn!" and started shooting fire at us. We all dove down the stairs the other way and barely made it into a doorway before he got us. Thorin screamed as some fire licked him, and I instinctively let my own fire rage out and meet Smaug's. It kept it away from Thorin, but there was a tremendous explosion. Luckily, most of it blew outward. We got back to our feet and continued running. Thorin took the lead, still holding onto my wrist in one hand and his sword in the other. We held a whispered conversation to decide where we were going. Thorin decided on somewhere called the Western Guardroom, but I could tell he was being unreasonable. He didn't even listen to Balin! Still, some destination was better than none.

The wide open walkways and clear space inside the mountain was rather unnerving when I knew there was a fire breathing dragon playing cat and mouse with us. I distracted myself in thinking about the architecture. It was so impressive, but hadn't anyone here heard of railings? The dwarves were as bad as the wood elves for walkways hundreds of feet in the air being totally open. What about children? Did they just stay at home, or did the moms tie their children to them to keep them from running off into thin air?

My musings were cut off by a coin dropping near me. We all froze and looked around, and then looked up. Smaug was passing right above us! If he didn't have coins falling off him occasionally, we'd have never known. Who knew a lizard that size could be that stealthy? We all quietly snuck forward. We made it past the dragon and into an area he couldn't get to, and then we started running. We turned a final corner and came to the guard room. I covered my mouth as I started weeping. It was a scene of horror. So many dwarves, male and female, had died here. They had come here, "hoping beyond hope" as Balin said, and they had died. I could feel the hope dying around me, too. Balin suggested we try to reach the mines. We might last a few days there.

Thorin was having none of that though. Even half mad, he was a great king. He told them we'd make for the forges, splitting up and hoping to confuse the dragon. When we got there, who knew. But he said, "If this is to end in fire, then we will all burn together." I didn't think it was very encouraging, but the others took heart. They didn't have hope, but they had a determination to go down fighting. I gently tried to get my wrist back, and Thorin looked down, startled that he held it. He finally released it, and I could see the shock in his eyes when he saw the bruises his grip had left. I met his eyes and said, "we'll talk about it later." He nodded, and we all split into groups to head for the forges.

I went with Thorin and Balin and Bilbo went with Dwalin and Nori, as per Thorin's orders, and everyone else picked their own groups. We were nearly eaten a couple of times on our way, but everyone worked together to yell and distract Smaug. I got the feeling he was enjoying it, or we'd have all been picked off quickly. We were almost to the forges when Balin went one way and Thorin went another. Balin yelled and Thorin stopped, then yelled at me to go with Balin and dove into a mine rather than getting fried. Balin had yanked me into the tunnel with him, but there was no way I was leaving Thorin down there with nothing but a rope to keep him away from the dragon. Dwalin did something that made Thorin's rope rise, but Smaug snapped at the end of it and stopped it. I dove into the pit after Thorin at that point, and grabbed him when the rope he was standing on broke and left him standing on Smaug's snout. My wings snapping open in his face made Smaug jerk back, and I managed to get Thorin to another rope. He held onto me as Nori did something that made the rope rocket into the air. Smaug sent fire after us, but we made it to the ledge by Nori before we were in too much danger.

We all ran into the forges, and Dwalin said, "The plan's not going to work. These furnaces are stone cold." He's right," Balin agreed. "We have no fire hot enough to set them ablaze." Thorin turned to me, and I shook my head. I might be able to get one going, but it would probably knock me out. He then had his craziest idea yet. He started insulting Smaug as he climbed out of the mine, calling him fat and slow. His final insult of "slug" really seemed to throw him over the edge. Smaug reared back and let out a mighty blast of fire right into the forge room. It lit the forges with a bang.

Smaug started throwing himself at the bars keeping him out while Thorin started rattling off orders. Bombur went to run the bellows, Bilbo ran up to pull a lever when Thorin said to, and the rest of us followed Balin to help make flash flame, whatever that was. Thorin kept an eye on Smaug. After he broke in, Smaug walked around a bit looking for us. Thorin yelled "now!" Just as Smaug got next to some statues. Bilbo pulled the lever, and Smaug got blasted with water. His fire was dampened and he thrashed around trying to get his balance. The water also got some gears moving, which caused a pulley system to start bins moving again. Smaug recovered and got a bead on Thorin again, but just as he was starting to head in Thorin's direction, we started throwing the jars of flash flame at him. They were impressive, but not enough to do more than annoy him. He just kept coming at Thorin until Gloin popped up in one of the bins and cut a rope holding a set of lower bins full of rock and causing them to fall on Smaug. He felt that one. I was glad to see Gloin and Bifur were all right. I'd been worrying about them with the part of me not focusing on getting us all out alive. Of course, then Smaug snapped at the rope holding their bins and I about had a heart attack when they fell. They rolled out of the bins and got out of the way all right, though. I swear my dwarves have more lives than a barrel full of cats.

While Smaug was distracted, Thorin pulled a chain letting molten gold out of all the forges, which explained why we'd lit them, but I didn't see how runnels of gold would help kill a dragon. Thorin yelled to lead the dragon to the gallery of the kings, so apparently the plan was still working. Then he ran right under the dragon driving a wheelbarrow, and I figured either his sanity was completely gone, or he was a genius. Maybe he was a mad genius, but either way, my heart was in my throat. Then he shoved it into the runnels of gold and rode it away from Smaug, so wherever it was going, he was going, too. I was very relieved Smaug couldn't seem to breath flame at the moment, though. Then another disaster struck, as the platform Bilbo was on was knocked over. I have no idea how he managed to survive the fall, but he rolled to a stop right in front of Smaug. Thorin couldn't stop, but I thought it was hopeful that he called Bilbo by his name as he told him to run. Bilbo took off with the dragon right behind him. I was pulled along by the dwarves as we presumably headed for the gallery of kings. We wound up behind a large statue, holding onto chains while Thorin stood on top of it and yelled insults at the dragon again. Smaug came right up in front of Thorin, who yelled something about revenge and then gave us the signal. We pulled as hard as we could, and the outside of the statue fell away. Now I could see where all the liquid gold went. It was a golden statue for about three seconds before it became a torrential mass that exploded all over the dragon. He'd been mesmerized by the statue's beauty. He vanished beneath the gold, and we all hoped for a few seconds, before he burst out of it and boy, was he mad. He yelled something about showing us revenge and went blasting out the front of the mountain. We went running after him and found Bilbo staring toward Laketown. He told us Smaug was going to burn the town.

I looked toward my Company, and especially Thorin. I drank in their features for what might be the last time, and then I started running. I snapped my wings out, and with a great flap, I was airborne. I still wasn't terribly graceful, but I was strong. I shot after the dragon, gaining altitude with each flap. I heard them calling after me, and Thorin's heartbroken cry almost made me turn back, but we had caused this disaster to come upon Laketown, and it was our responsibility to do what we could. If I was the only one who could help, then so be it.

The dragon was a much better flier than I was, so he made it to the town well ahead of me. He just flew around it for a few minutes, though. I caught up with him just after he made his first pass of fire at the town. I pulled out my daggers and dove at his head. I managed to land on top of it and hooked my legs around one of his spikes as I tried to stab his eyes out. He reared his head back and almost threw me off. I had to drop one of my daggers, but I got one hand under his eyelid and stayed on. I managed to bring my other hand around and plunge the dagger in it into his eye. I was really grateful for elvish steel, because I didn't think it would have gone in otherwise. He roared and shook his head really hard. I went flying, but I managed to keep hold of my dagger. I pulled out just in time. I went careening through the town and saw the master on a boat full of gold. I also saw Bard stuck in a cell. I concentrated and headed in his direction. I pulled fire into my fists and blew through the wall next to him. I crashed into the floor beside him and sat up gasping for breath. Going that fast doesn't really let you breathe, I'd discovered. He helped me to my feet, then headed for the door. He paused and asked, "Will you look after my children?" He told me where to find them, and I took off. I found them huddled under their house and worrying about their dad. I got them in the boat, but it was hard to get it to move. I saw a couple huddling under another house, and got them in the boat, too. I told them Bard's oldest girl was in charge and to make for open water while I tried to distract the dragon some more.

I ran up some stairs and took off again. I saw Smaug turning around and heading in the direction of the town again, and he was mad. His chest was glowing with his fire as he prepared for another scorching run. I noticed a hole just under his left wing, and it gave me hope. If Bard could just hit him there! Smaug opened his mouth to unleash another torrent of flame, so I pulled as much fire as I could around my self and dove right into his blast. I managed to deflect most of it back at him, and crash landed on his head again. He shook me off and snapped at me, but I was on his blind side and barely slipped out of the way.

I flapped desperately, but he was a faster than I was. He whacked me with his tail and I went crashing back toward the town. He followed me, jaws gaping, but got distracted by the arrows bouncing off his face. He turned toward the archer, and I barely got my wings sorted out enough to pull out and run across a roof. I dove off the other side and saw Bard's son running toward the tower his father was shooting from. He was carrying an arrow as long as he was. I decided I'd better distract the dragon again to give them a chance, but I knew how completely out matched I was.

I soared up again, and looked around. Smaug was coming in fast. I dodged by folding my wings and dropping almost to the water before I flipped around and up again. I was getting a lot better. It's amazing what a good teacher utter terror can be. I was getting really tired, though. I saw Smaug letting another blast toward the town and sent a counter blast to intercept. He jerked his head in my direction and arrowed straight toward me. He was furious.

I saw behind him that Bard had the arrow, and I flew straight toward him. I barely slipped under the dragon's snapping jaws and pulled around the tail. I landed on the tower, staggered and fell down next to Bard. "He's got a gap in his scales under his left wing," I gasped out. Smaug made a pass and tore the top off the tower we were on. Bard's son was left hanging on by one hand, but his dad pulled him back up without too much trouble. It's amazing what adrenaline can do. I decided not to stand up yet and conserve my energy. I felt about out.

Smaug landed on a house some distance away and started walking towards us. He was mocking Bard and calling me a pigeon, telling us there was no hope. Bard wasn't ready to give up just yet, though. His bow was broken, so he took the pieces and jammed them into two parts of the ruined tower. Then he made his son stand and act as the sight for the arrow. Smaug charged, and my heart was in my throat again as Bard waited and waited and waited. I was just about ready to give in and scream when he let his arrow fly. It was a perfect shot. Unfortunately, Smaug was too close at that point and knocked the tower over. I tried to pull my wings out, but I was too tired. I would have died right there if it weren't for Bard. He and his son held on to me, and when we hit the water, they pulled me back to the surface and swam with me for the nearest walkway that wasn't on fire.

We got there just in time to see Smaug falling back to earth. He'd apparently climbed as high as he could before dying. Now he fell like a stone. We heard a scream and saw the master's boat right under him. I felt a bit of satisfaction, I'm ashamed to admit, to see that pompous selfish windbag taken out by his own greed. The splash put out a lot of the fires, but at least a third of the town was burnt. It could have been worse, though. Bard, his son, and I pulled ourselves up and started helping with the relief efforts. Bard was awesome. He organized fire brigades, set up relief stations, and generally brought order to chaos. I helped as long as I could, but eventually I just couldn't keep going. Bard had me follow his son back to their house, where we found his sisters. They'd seen the dragon fall and figured their menfolk would come back to the house eventually. They gave me some food and put me in a bed. I fell asleep and didn't wake up until the next day.

When I got up, most of the fire was out and everyone was busy. The younger girl was watching over me, but she led me to her older sister after she'd made me eat some breakfast. I learned on the way that her name was Tilda, and her older sister was Sigrid. Sigrid was in the master's house, which had been converted to an infirmary. She said her da was out and about, taking care of relief efforts. I asked if any of the master's men were causing problems, and she said that after Alfred was almost torn apart by townsfolk, everyone basically elected Bard their leader. He hadn't officially accepted yet, but I was sure he would eventually. After all, when you care about your people you're not going to leave them in the hands of a tyrant if you have a choice.

I thanked her, and headed out to find Bard. I found him talking to a council he'd set up to find out how much food and clothing was needed to get through the winter. He held up a hand when he saw me, and they all turned to look at me. Most of the faces were friendly, if wary, but some were outright hostile. I figured they'd be mad at anyone associated with waking the dragon for awhile, and I could hardly blame them. He said to continue with the discussion and he'd be back in a moment, before leading me outside. He told me that they wouldn't have enough food and supplies to get through the winter, and to warn Thorin that he and a delegation of men would be coming to request that he honor his word. I looked at him measuringly, and then decided to be totally honest. "Bard, a sickness lies on that mountain. I think I can cure it, if given enough time, but Thorin is likely to be unreasonable if you push him. I'll do my best, but give me a couple of weeks, would you?" He said he'd do his best. I thanked him with a smile. Then I climbed some stairs to a higher level and pulled out my wings. They ached a bit, but after a few tentative flaps they felt limber enough to use. I waved at Bard and took off.

I took my time getting back to the mountain, partially because I was still stiff, and partially because it was the first time I'd tried flying without a life or death situation demanding my attention. It was amazing. I soared higher and higher, and got a good look at the surrounding area. Much of it was blasted and scarred with old dragon fire, but I could see the possibilities. I looked toward Mirkwood, and saw it wasn't that far, really. I also noticed something glinting. I squinted for a bit, but it got clearer as more and more elves left the trees. It was an army of them. I did a wing over and shot toward the mountain. I landed on the battlements and found Fili and Bilbo standing watch. They greeted me with joy, patting my back and shoulder. Apparently they'd been able to see enough the night before to see me get beaten about and almost killed numerous times. When the tower fell, they feared the worst. The others all poured out after a minute or so. Bilbo said he'd noticed me leave the town and called them. The only one I didn't see was Thorin. When I asked, they all got a bit fidgety and said I'd have to talk to him myself. Balin at least hinted that they feared dragon sickness.

At that, I thought it might be a good idea to look closer at the mountain again. I concentrated until I felt that peculiar focus. I looked at all of them and saw that the darkness of the mountain only had a light hold on them. It had diminished, but the source of it was not gone. It wasn't Smaug who caused the problem, he'd just made it much worse. I looked around at all of them and healed a few bruises. Suddenly I noticed that Bilbo was in trouble. There was a greater darkness than that of the mountain pulling at him. He also held both sources of darkness. I decided to wait until we were alone to talk to him and instead looked at myself. I was relieved to see that no darkness clung to me, but I had a disturbing number of bruises and a few cracked bones. No wonder I ached. I took care of them, but for some reason the bruise around my left wrist wouldn't fade. I frowned and snapped out of my trance. They were all staring at me again.

I coughed self-consciously. "Sorry, I just wanted to see if you were all all right." Kili was the one who spoke up. "Kara, just how many bruises did you have? We thought you were just dirty, but the dirt faded right off your face." "Oh, I had a few bruises and a cracked rib or two, but I'm ok now. How is Thorin? Will you take me to him?" They all shifted uncomfortably before Dwalin said, "He's this way, lassie." I followed him down a lot of stairs. We finally came out in the treasure room. Heaps of coin and jewels stretched as far as I could see. What I couldn't see was Thorin. As I looked for him, he suddenly shuffled out from what looked like a stone building jutting out of the gold. He had found rich clothes somewhere, and was just lost in looking at the treasure. He said, "Gold. Gold beyond measure, beyond sorrow, and grief." He was obviously not talking to anyone, except maybe the gold itself. It was really creepy, actually.

I started down the stairs toward him, and he looked up. At first he had a look of pure joy on his face, and I could feel myself smiling in return. His smile swiftly turned to anger though, as he came stomping toward me, yelling about knowing my place and staying in the mountain. I stopped, but he kept coming, anger in every line of his body. His words were hurtful. I couldn't help the tears that started to flow. He just made fun of them and all of a sudden, I was mad. I interrupted his tirade and told him that if it weren't for me, the whole of Laketown would have burned, instead of just a third of it. We were responsible for that, and I had to do my part to stop it. He sneered, and said that those who lived through dragon fire had much to be thankful for.

He was almost to me when I flung myself off the stairs and flew up to the top of the building he'd walked out of. I longed for a hug and to cuddle, with words of love and affirmation, but if I stayed down there, all I'd get was abuse. He proved me right about that when he followed me, spewing invectives and malice. I interrupted his vitriol with, "Thorin, you're sick. You're not yourself. I know that, but I'm not going to put myself in your way just so you can beat on me. I'll find a way to help you, though, I promise." He looked taken aback, then huffed indignantly that he'd never hurt me. His face darkened again though, and he said, "not that you couldn't just fix yourself anyway, witch." I held up my wrist, and the bruises were highly visible. "I healed all the damage I got from the dragon, but this wouldn't budge. I can't fix what you cause, Thorin. " Then I flew away. I couldn't take seeing him like that anymore.

Bilbo came to find me later. He handed me my pack, and I thanked him. He also handed over some food, which I scarfed down. I was starving. We sat in silence for awhile, just staring down into the treasure room. Thorin had all the rest of them searching for the Arkenstone. He was desperate to find it, and I was sure he was getting worse and worse. I finished my food and felt much better. I turned to Bilbo and said, "Hand it over, please, Bilbo." He looked confused for a second and I added, "The Arkenstone, give it to me, please." He looked guilty, but pulled it out and unwrapped it. I took it in my hand and said, "Thank you. If I'm not back in a day, come find me."

I took off and flew as high as I could. I found a room with a dusty couch and sat down, holding it in my hand. I got into my trance and saw that yes, this was the source of the problem. I started concentrating on it, and finally connected to it. It was full of lamentation at being taken out of the mountain. It truly was the heart of the mountain, but it was only part of it. The rest was still down in the mines somewhere. I stood up still in my trance and walked down to where I had a drop clear down to the roots of the mountain. Then I stooped like a falcon.

I flipped near the bottom and soared down tunnel after tunnel. I passed by a few dwarves, but I barely noticed. Something else was calling me. I finally came out over the pit that Thorin had almost fallen down. I dove over the edge without hesitation. There was no light except that given off by the jewel, so I held up my other hand and called flame. The pit seemed to go down forever, but we finally came out in a wider chasm that was mostly unworked stone. I hovered by part of the worked stone and found a pock mark with a black dull rock at the back. I reached out with my fire and the rock fell away from the black stone.

It opened up into another chamber. It wasn't very big, but three dwarves would be able to stand up in it and still leave room for the dull black stone that was in the center of it. It ran in a diamond shape with rounded corners from the ceiling to the floor. One corner ended in a rounded scooped edge where the side of the pit had been. It looked like someone had taken an ice cream scoop to it. I could feel the Arkenstone yearning for the hollow. I reached up and touched it to the rock, and suddenly I felt healing pouring out of me. The Arkenstone grew back to the original stone, which slowly changed from black to glowing white. There was a surge of light when it was done, which is the last thing I remember before I blacked out.

I woke up in a chamber full of light. There were several indistinct personages standing around me. They told me that they were the Valar, and that now that I had accomplished the purpose they'd brought me there for, I had the choice to go back to my world or stay. I asked if I'd even been missed. They seemed a bit uncomfortable, but allowed that it was only my landlord and boss that had raised questions, but no one was really looking for me. The cops had taken evidence, but they said there was no signs of foul play. I asked if anyone in Middle Earth was missing me, and they allowed that the whole mountain was being turned upside down by the Company. I said, "Well, there's my answer. I'll go where I'm loved." "Even if Thorin no longer loves you?" My heart gave a painful squeeze, but I knew it was a possibility when I stole the Arkenstone that he'd never forgive me. "Even then. I will always love him, either way, and I'd rather be in a universe with people who love me." They nodded, and the shiniest one stood forward. "We give you these gifts, for your help and for your loyalty. Your children will have the same gift we gave you, to pick their race. Also, we remove the curse of Durin for your line, should you marry Thorin. If that doesn't occur, you may choose your race again. All other gifts already given will stay with you. They may or may not resurface in your line as needed." I was surprised. It seemed like a lot. He smiled and said, "It is not so much for what you have done, and for what you will yet do. You may ask one more gift, should you save the line of Durin." I jerked at that, and stared at him in dismay. Save the line of Durin? Was it in trouble? A female stepped forward and gently patted my shoulder. "He may not recover from the Arkenstone poison at once child, but have faith that he will come back to you." I looked at her in dismay. He was still in trouble?

Before I could ask, the male reached out and touched my forehead. I sat up with a jerk. I was in the heart of the mountain chamber. It had been a dream, hadn't it? I reached up and touched my forehead, and felt warmth spread through my being. Nope, not a dream. I walked to the front of the chamber and looked up. Not too far above me, there was light. The Company was indeed looking for me. I spread my wings and soared up, surprised that it took so little to lift me. I drifted up the pit and found the dwarves trying to rig a pulley system to replace the one Smaug destroyed chasing Thorin. I drifted up and counted. Everyone was here except Bofur and Dwalin. I assumed they were keeping watch. Thorin was the one I watched closest. He noticed me first and snapped out, "You! Where is it? Where is the Arkenstone?" I sighed as I looked at him. "Back where it belongs, in the heart of the mountain. It was never the king's jewel, Thorin. It was the mountain's jewel, and it's poisoned your line since it was removed. Even if you never recover, The curse of the Arkenstone is ended. It's the reason I was brought here. I asked to be able to stay, because I love you and I love this Company. I hope you will let me." With that I turned and flew up the tunnel. I didn't want to stay and see him like that.

I flew until I found Bofur and Dwalin at the front gate. It occurred to me that I hadn't warned any of them about the elves. I tiredly told Bofur and Dwalin after they'd grabbed me and hugged me. Apparently I'd been missing longer than I thought. I'd been gone for three days. I accepted a blanket Bofur had and curled up against the wall. Dwalin gave me some trail rations, which I chewed with gratitude for the thought, though not the taste. I passed out for awhile, and when I woke up it was to see most of the Company idling nearby. I was both disappointed and relieved not to see Thorin there. Dwalin had gone to tell him about the elves, though, so it wasn't long before he came out. He started giving orders for the front to be blocked up. Me, he sneered at and told to fly away. I flew up to see what I could see, but I would be back and told him so. He shouted something after me, but I didn't hear what it was.

I gave myself to the joy of the air for a bit before focusing towards the forest. It looked like the elves had made it as far as Laketown. What concerned me was a smudge I could see on the horizon. I took off in that direction and saw a huge army of orcs. A white warg with a pale orc rode in the front, and I knew who that must be. I quickly flew back to the mountain and saw that they had made good progress on the wall already. Dwarves are truly impressive stone workers. I landed right in front of Thorin, who sneered and deliberately ignored me. I rolled my eyes to hide the hurt and turned to Balin. I asked if he'd tell his majesty that the elves were at Laketown, but that an army of orcs led by Azog would be here shortly after the elves. We might think about hiring the elves to guard the mountain, since we had something they wanted. Why go to war over something trivial when you can use it to buy their service instead? Thorin seemed to be listening, but I doubted he'd do more than insult Thranduil anyway.

I headed into the mountain to find something to eat, when I was stopped by Thorin trying to grab my arm. I automatically sidestepped and flinched. I turned to him once I'd gotten a calm mask back on. He said dangerously, "What makes you think you're welcome in this mountain, wench? You're an enemy of the dwarves of Erebor, and banished from this mountain." I turned to him and said, "I'm more loyal to Erebor than you are, Thorin. I actually care for the welfare of all the dwarves. Do you care for the welfare of anything but the gold? If you insist on banishing me, then I will go. Just know this, Thorin Oakenshield, I love you, and I'm sorry you didn't love me well enough." I turned away and jumped from the wall, flapping to gain speed to get away. I didn't want him to see my tears.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Once again, sorry about the cliff hanger and how long it took me to get back. Thanks to those who reviewed. This is the second to last chapter, fyi.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Hobbit, and apparently my characters own me.**

I didn't know where I'd go, but I couldn't make myself leave when he was about to be in the biggest trouble of his life. I landed on one of the ruined towers of Dale, and just pulled my knees to my chest, put my face down, and sobbed. After a while, I felt cried out and realized I stunk. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had a bath. I tucked my pack under my arm again, and flew as high as I could. The elves were still probably a half day's ride away and they had a delegation of men with them. Beyond them was Laketown, and coming up fast was the orc army. I swore to myself, because the orcs would pass right by the town. If they thought it was still inhabited, they'd probably try to kill everyone in it on their way by. I flew back to Bard's house and found Sigrid there. I asked her who was in charge, and she led me to the council. I told them about the problem and told them that the orcs would be here in a matter of hours. They needed to have everyone ready to get on boats and head to the middle of the lake. I also got their permission to burn the walkway linking the town with the land.

I took off to do that, and after it was nothing more than ashes, I looked for the orcs. I noticed from my viewpoint high above the town, that most of the area round about was scarred by old fire, the part the orcs had decided to pass through still had some dry vegetation. It was mostly surrounded by barren bits, though. I started a fire by the town and drove it towards the orcs, then swiftly flew by as high as I could and stooped to start a fire by the only non barren part. I figured if I drove the fire in from there, it would make a fire break. It worked like a charm, and in trying to outrun the fire, the orcs ran right by Laketown without even stopping to see if it was inhabited. I kept an eye on them for awhile to be sure, but they quickly moved on.

The elves were almost to the mountain, so I figured I'd better hold off on the bath. I just quickly splashed around in the shallows to hopefully get the worst off before flying high towards the mountain. I circled high above to see if I could figure out what was going on. It looked like Bard was trying to talk to Thorin, and Thorin was yelling at him. Bard finally gave up and rode back to the elves. They swiftly set up camp, so I figured they'd be waiting until the next day to attack. I did one more quick reconnaissance flight. The orcs were entering giant holes in the nearby mountains, presumably to make a sneak attack the next day. A little further away in a different direction was an army of dwarves. I sighed. There went any chance of Thorin being reasonable.

I flew back toward the mountain, not sure what I should do. How could I protect those I loved? I figured I'd give Thorin one last message, since he needed to know about the underground tunnels. I flew over and saw Thorin staring broodingly at the camp. He'd changed into some truly magnificent armor, but it looked like it was built more to impress than protect. I managed to hover and get his attention. He sneered again, but I started talking before he could get going. I warned him about the orcs in the tunnels, and was just telling him about Laketown, when pain exploded through my back. I screamed as I fell, my wings shot out from behind me. I heard Thorin scream my name as I fell, which made me smile, though seconds later I blacked out when I hit the ground.

I came to some time later, to hear three furious voices arguing over me. They were trying to be quiet, and failing miserably. The first voice I identified as Thranduil said, "I told them to shoot anything that moved on the mountain. They took that to mean above the mountain, and you can hardly blame them. She's known to be part of their group and was obviously spying for them. I will point out that my men didn't kill her. They merely shot her out of the air." "That was still poorly done, your highness," said another voice I identified as Bard's. "She's been nothing but a friend to my people, and risked her life to protect us from the dragon. If it weren't for her, our entire town would have burnt to the water." "What I don't understand is why she didn't land on the battlements," said a third voice that made me sit straight up. It was Gandalf!

"Gandalf!" I cried. I threw myself at him and burst into tears. I couldn't help myself. All the sorrow and the fear that had slowly been overwhelming me came pouring out. I cried for at least fifteen minutes before his awkward pats and "oh, dear lady" repetitions finally registered. I felt a bit embarrassed and pulled back, which is when I realized I was really hurting. I frowned and looked around. There was some food on a table nearby, so I took two steps and scarfed some of it down, before leaning against it and going into my healing trance. That was easier than I remembered, too. I shuddered at the damage. Both my wings were broken, but they were indistinct, almost misty. I pulled them out and almost screamed in pain. I quickly nudged them straight and healed them. They were the worst, but my right arm was sprained and I had huge bruises across most of my right side, as well as having most of the skin scraped off my face.

After I'd taken care of all of that, I snapped out of it and would have fallen if Bard hadn't grabbed me around the waist. It was rather embarrassing, actually. He helped me to a chair, and Gandalf handed me some water to drink. I thanked them and looked up. Bard looked awestruck, but Thranduil looked coolly assessing. "What?" I asked him. "Tell me, my lady, do you have any other surprises in store? Shrinking another foot perhaps? Turning into smoke?" I interrupted at that point. "Thranduil, I realize you can go on insulting me all night, but there's something you should probably know. There's an army of orcs headed this way. I last saw them as they entered some large holes on the other side of some nearby hills. They'll be here tomorrow."

"Well that answers where they're coming from." Gandalf said with a significant look at Thranduil. Thranduil replied, "So she says. I find it hard to believe someone who has already lied to me once." I was indignant. "When did I ever lie to you?" I asked. He got right in my face and said, "You told me you hadn't helped the dwarves escape when you were caught the second time. Obviously, that was a lie when the same day they are found to have escaped." I snorted. "You have no imagination. Did it never occur to you that there were more members of our company than just me and the dwarves? I didn't get them out. That was our hobbit friend." He looked incredulous, and something occurred to me. "Actually, while you have me here, I have something of yours." I looked around and spotted my pack and asked Bard if he would bring it to me. He obliged and I thanked him with a smile. I rummaged around for a bit and found the packet that held the jewelry Thranduil had loaned me.

When I held it out to him, he took it with a puzzled air. When he opened it, though, he scowled and tossed it back in my lap. "Those were a gift." He said coldly. What was with this guy? I held them out again and said, "It was very generous to loan them to me, Thranduil, but I was raised to never take jewelry from a man I wasn't dating." He looked confused. I sighed and elaborated, "Dating is like courting, but less serious." His confusion cleared up and he said, "What makes you think I wasn't courting you?" I stared at him for a minute, then said, "If that was courting behavior, Thranduil, you are really bad at it." He got all indignant again, but I continued, "Do all your dates usually start with tying a girl up and threatening her friends?"

"He's trying to court you? That's going to make talking to Thorin a bit harder." We all looked over and saw Bilbo in the doorway. "Bilbo!" I cheered. I tried to get up to go over to him, but I couldn't stand yet. Bilbo said formally, "I am here on behalf of the King under the Mountain. He wishes to negotiate the return of his intended." I went all mushy inside. I hadn't imagined Thorin's heart broken cry when I fell. Thranduil and Bard both got all stiff. "His intended, you say?" Thranduil looked at me coldly. I held up my hand so he could see the promise ring, and his face got even darker. "Were you just playing the tease in my kingdom, then?" he asked. I scowled at him and said, "I can't think of one single thing I did that could be construed as flirtatious, Thranduil. If you're trying to take a round about way of asking if Thorin and I were together then, the answer is no. He didn't ask to court me until Laketown." I turned back toward Bilbo and asked a question with my eyes. He smiled and said, "He seems totally recovered from his, uh," he looked around shiftily, "problem."

I looked back over at Thranduil and Bard and said, "What Bilbo means is he seems over his dragon sickness, so you should be able to get him to part with his gold now. He hasn't been himself since Laketown, I'm afraid." Thranduil said, "So what is Thorin Oakenshield willing to barter?" I could tell he was getting ready to take Thorin for an arm and a leg, so I said, "The more important question is, what are we going to do about the orcs, or are you all so set on gold and gems that you're willing to ignore the great evil that might destroy us all?"

Thranduil sneered, "My people will be fine. What happens to the mountain is no concern of ours." I replied, "Orcs don't make good neighbors, Thranduil. They are never content with what they have. Your magic is fading, and soon it won't be enough to keep your enemies out. Do you wish to have your kingdom overrun later, when a battle here and now might save it? If we all work together, we can beat this foe. We just have to be willing to care about our neighbors a bit." I' wasn't quite sure where all that came from. Thranduil looked ready to argue some more, but Bard suddenly interjected, "What of my people? I have heard nothing from Laketown. The orcs would have passed right by it. We saw fires in that direction. Do I even have a people to save?" I replied, "Rest easy, Bard, your people are fine. You probably haven't heard anything because I burned the causeway and warned them about the orcs. The fires were me hastening the orcs on so they didn't think about Laketown. If you want, after I've recovered a bit, I'll run and check on them." He looked grateful, but Thranduil interjected, "And what makes you think I'll let you leave?" I gave him a dirty look and said, "If you want those white gems, of yours, I'm sure Thorin will arrange for their swift return. If you just want to be petty, though, you may just talk you and your people into an early grave."

Before he could retort, Bilbo came up to me with a plate of food he'd been quietly gathering from the table. I smiled at him and started scarfing it down. It seemed like I never got enough to eat. Gandalf picked up the conversation and ran with it, telling about how he'd sent for any allies that could come, but that for at least one day, we were probably on our own. I told them I'd scout everything the next day, and then yawned. I stood up and faced Thranduil. "Will you accept my word that you shall receive your ransom, or will you try to keep me prisoner another night? I would suggest letting me go as the best diplomatic solution, but I can't make up your mind for you." He gave an elegant, if slightly mocking bow, and said, "By all means, lady, feel free to go. Just know that if you are not back before the sun has risen very high in the sky, that we will attack the mountain." I surprised him when I gave him a small smile and said, "Thank you, Thranduil," before walking out of the tent with Bilbo. Gandalf looked like he wanted to come along, but I thought that would be a bad idea.

I whispered to Bilbo, "Want a ride?" He shook his head quickly, but I grabbed him under his armpits and took to the sky. It was so easy to fly now! I wondered if the Valar had had something to do with that, but focused mostly on flying as quickly as possible to the gates of Erebor. I dropped Bilbo gently on the battlements and landed uncertainly next to him. I still wasn't sure of my welcome. Someone had been watching for us, though, because before more than a minute had passed I was surrounded by dwarves hugging and patting me, and generally just letting me know I'd been missed. The one dwarf I wanted most to see hung back, though.

I finally managed to pull away from the others and approached him. I came to just within arms length and stopped. He didn't seem to want to meet my eyes, so I thought, "what the heck" and just hugged him. It was gently at first, but then his arms came up around me, and he was sobbing into my hair and whispering apologies. He descended into dwarvish after just a bit. I just held him to me, and when I grew tired of not understanding him, I shut him up with a kiss. I pulled back before he could get over the surprise of it, and told him, "You're forgiven, Thorin. I know it wasn't really you. It was the Arkenstone poisoning your mind, like it did your grandfather's. It came from the heart of the mountain, and until it was returned and healed, it would destroy Erebor and everyone in it. I'll take you to see it if you want, but there are some things you should know first."

I looked around for Balin, and smiled when I realized they'd all left except for Dwalin, who was staring out over the valley and studiously ignoring us. Thorin sent him to retrieve the others, and it didn't take long because they hadn't gotten far. They all smiled at us, and Kili gently tried to tease us a bit, but that ended when I told him he had no room to talk. He looked a bit scared when Thorin looked at him, but I think Thorin decided to ignore it for a bit and focus on the big news I'd brought back. I told them all about everything I'd seen, and everything we'd discussed in Thranduil's tent. Well, I left out the conversation about courting, but I wasn't about to open that can of worms just when everything looked like it might settle down. They all started discussing the coming battle, but I was so tired I couldn't concentrate. I finally put my head down on Thorin's shoulder and went to sleep.

I woke up the next morning in a room just off the entrance way. I was lying on a comfortable pile of cloth and covered with Thorin's blue coat. I smiled to see it and snuggled into it for a moment before reminding myself I had scouting to do. I went out on the wall and only found Bifur there. He told me the rest were arming up and gave me some jerky. I gnawed on it while I followed his directions to the armory. I got there just in time to see Thorin give Bilbo a lovely little coat of Mithril. When I heard what it could do I asked, "Are there more?" He smiled and replied, " There are three more my lady. This one is for you." He held out another one, but I looked him in the eye and said, "I doubt I'm going to spend the battle on the ground. You, Fili, and Kili, on the other hand, will be Azog's prime targets. I think you should all three wear one." He tried to be stubborn, but I told him, "You owe me at least this one request, Thorin."

He looked like he wanted to argue some more, but I held up my hand to stop him. He stared at it and I said, "I can't heal the dead, Thorin. If you go out there and get killed because you didn't listen to me, my heart will never heal. Is that what you want?" He reached out and gently took my hand and slid up the sleeve a bit. I tried to yank it back as he stared at the still unhealed bruise. It was a truly glorious yellow purple by that point, but you could still clearly see the finger marks. A look of such sorrow crossed his face. I used my other hand to turn his face up and looked him in the eye. "That was not you, Thorin. That was poison and dragon sickness." He looked back down with tears forming in his eyes, and I stepped close and kissed him. I looked him right in the eyes and said firmly, "I love you Thorin. Nothing can change that. Just please, please take care of yourself out there. Any orc that sees you will try to skewer you. That goes double for Azog. Please, just wear the shirt." He nodded finally. I grinned cheekily at him. "Good. Now you can set a good example and get Kili and Fili into theirs, hmm?" he answered me with a half smile, and turned to do as I'd asked. I looked around for something for me, but none of it suited me. I shrugged. I'd just have to do my best to stay out of bow shot this time.

Thorin was busy, and I didn't want him objecting and trying to force me to take the shirt again, so I told Nori I was off to scout and quickly withdrew. I grabbed some trail rations on the way out. I waved at Bifur and jumped off the wall just as the first streaks of light found their way across the sky. I circled up, having to flap harder than usual because the air was so cold and still. I looked around. The dwarven army was only about one hill away, and the orcs were still hidden in the earth. I headed towards Laketown, but was distracted by a dark smudge to the North I hadn't seen before. I headed in that direction and finally realized what it was. It was a second orc army, and they'd be there just in time to do a classic pincer movement and crush us all. I turned and flew back as fast as I could go. I noticed a delegation of elves and men talking with Thorin while he stood on the wall. I arrowed in and landed next to Thorin a little less gracefully than I had planned. I guess I still needed to work on landings. Anyway, I tripped and would have fallen flat on my face if he hadn't caught me.

"Nice of you to join us," drawled Thranduil. I waved cheerily, then got down to business. I told them all about everything I knew, including where Dain was and where the orcs were likely to go. If Azog thought everyone from Laketown had come with us, he was likely to attack Dale, but if he didn't he might just send a delegation to attack the town. I told them I'd act as messenger and look out, but Thorin put his foot down and said he didn't want me out there without armor. I pointed out that dwarven armor would just slow me down and make me easier to hit, at which point Thranduil stepped in and offered me elvish to tweak Thorin's nose. Thorin surprised us all when he accepted on my behalf and actually thanked Thranduil.

He then started braiding my hair, I assumed to keep it out of my face for me, while he and the other leaders made battle plans. It was only after he was done and I saw the beads in my hair, that I realized he'd also been silently staking his claim. When I looked up at him questioningly, he whispered that they proclaimed me his queen to be and that it would help Dain to listen to me. He wrote Dain a note in dwarvish outlining the battle plan, and Bard asked me to take one to Laketown. I got both notes and took off while the elves got into place. Hopefully we'd catch the first army of orcs in a pincer move of our own and finish them off before the next army got here. If not, we'd be in trouble.

I found the dwarvish army and waved downward. "Hello!" I called cheerfully. "I have a message from Thorin. Can I come deliver it without being dismembered?" An impressive dwarf on a giant pig waved back and called, "We wouldna dismember a woman, lass. Even if she is the strangest one I've ever seen." I laughed and landed next to him and gave him the message. He read it, looked at me sharply, and said, "Did you read this?" "Sorry, I don"t read dwarvish yet. Hopefully someday, but I've been a bit distracted, what with the dragon, and the rest of the drama." He looked at me more closely and noticed the braids. "By my beard! Is that the way of it, then?" I blushed a bit and nodded, and he laughed and gave me a gentle pat that almost knocked me over. "Well it's aboot time my cousin found hemself a gel. I must say, he does have strange taste!" I could tell he wasn't trying to be insulting, so I said, "It's a strange tale. You'll have to get Thorin to tell it to you when this is all over. Any message to send back?" "Nay, Lassie, jest tell him we'll be there."

I gave him a nod and a smile and jumped into the air. I circled up a bit before hurrying off to Laketown. I just soared over it and dropped a note at Sigrid's feet. I didn't want anyone watching me to think someone was still there. Then I flew back to the mountain. An elf called me down to their camp before I made it all the way back and she outfitted me with a lovely suit of armor that actually didn't reflect the light too much. It had a really light set of chainmail to go under it that almost reminded me of mithril it was so light. It was blackened to keep from being reflective, though. I guess they'd realized that putting me in gold plate would just make me a target.

I had just gotten back to the mountain when Dain and his crew got there. He and his forces arranged themselves in front of the mountain, facing the elves who were on the other side of the valley. They had just enough time to take a few swigs of water and maybe nibble some food before the ground started shaking. The biggest worms I have ever seen came shooting out of the ground, crunching rock up in their enormous maws as they went. After they'd made the holes, they retreated into the rock again. We heard a horn and looked up to Ravenhill to see Azog directing his armies. He must have been telling them to advance, because out poured a swarm of orcs headed straight for the mountain. This proved to be a mistake, as the elves were free to pick their targets off the orc army's unprotected backside.

Another horn sounded, and the orcs split into two. One section continued to head for the mountain, and the other turned right into the teeth of the elvish fire. I looked to see if there was anything I could do, but it was utter chaos once the lines engaged. Thorin and the rest of the Company went charging out to lead their kin. They'd carefully been slipping down the rope since Dain showed up. With them at the head of the army, the dwarves seemed to never tire. I worried about all my guys, though. Even Bilbo was in there somewhere. I was pretty sure he'd gone invisible and was causing general mayhem by sticking his short sword Sting into unprotected orc thighs and bellies. I jumped up and circled, looking for an opening. Azog split his forces again, sending a group toward Dale. He even called forth some impressive trolls with catapults. It didn't take him long, though, to figure out that no one was following them. Instead, it left the rest of his forces outnumbered, and they were falling like flies.

He called his other forces back, but now it was the elves and dwarves together facing them. One thing his maneuver had accomplished was to get his forces out from between our groups. Now, if we didn't finish this off quickly, we'd be the ones in the pincer. I looked speculatively at the signal flag's of Azog's. I quickly made up my mind that it would be worth it, especially since he didn't seem to have archers. I dove and flung fireballs at them, and they went up like they'd been soaked in oil. I heard and angry roar and flapped as fast as I could to gain altitude. A chain swung up and almost caught me, but I did some reckless twisting and managed to avoid it. I went shooting over the side of a waterfall and noticed Thorin, Dwalin, Fili, and Kili approaching on giant mountain sheep. What is it with this world and the giant animals?

Anyway, I waved them off and landed next to them. I told them Azog was up there and that we really needed to leave. This hill was where the second orc army would be coming from. Stubborn dwarves that they are, they decided that they would try to charge Azog and finish him once and for all. Thorin told me to retreat to the mountain, but I smiled at him sweetly and told him, not a chance. I flew up and followed them as they threw themselves up the mountain. When we got up there, there was no sign of Azog. Thorin decided to enter the tower with Fili and Kili. Dwalin stayed outside to guard their backs and wound up fighting off a whole horde of goblins. I helped harry and distract them. Thorin came out a few minutes later with Kili and helped finish them off. They'd apparently gotten separated, and were worried because they couldn't find Fili. Bilbo showed up with a second warning about what turned out to be Bolg's army. They were Gundabad orcs, whatever that meant. I took off to look for Fili from above, and was just in time to see Azog start yelling mockingly at Thorin while holding Fili. He tried to stab him with the spike that had replaced his left arm, but was puzzled when it wouldn't penetrate.

I closed my wings and dropped, gaining speed every second. I only hoped I could get there in time. Azog tried a couple of different places, then apparently decided to just go for the head. He was pulling back his spike one final time when I crashed into Fili and knocked them both off the tower. At least he dropped Fili and I was able to slow us down a bit, but we still crashed next to Thorin. I could feel my leg snap, and screamed. Azog used Thorin's distraction to get up, and orcs started boiling out of the tower. Pretty soon we were surrounded. I grimaced and asked Dwalin to pull my leg straight. He did, but that's all he had time for before he was fighting for his life. I focused and quickly healed my leg, and snapped out of it just in time to dodge an orc's downward swing.

What followed was a brutal battle. Azog and Thorin mostly focused on each other, and the rest of us had our hands full with his forces. We were aided by an elf that started shooting a lot of them for us, but I didn't identify who it was until Tauriel joined us. I had wondered where she was. She wasn't with the army, and she was supposedly the captain of the guard. She started off by slotting in between Kili and Fili and fighting with the brothers. It was amazing to watch, like it was rehearsed. It didn't take me long to realize that I was just in the way. All I had were daggers, and no way could my strength match even a goblin's. I took off back into the air and went looking for Legolas.

I caught up to him just in time to see Fili, Kili, and Tauriel fighting a losing battle with Bolg. Those sharp metal plates embedded in his skin gave him an advantage, and he was huge. It didn't help that he was quick as a snake, either. Bolg threw Tauriel into the boys and they all went down in a heap. Legolas wound up knocking over the tower he was on with a blind troll that was trying to attack him and engaging Bolg one-on-one, since Tauriel and the boys were too beat up to help much, although they did manage to get out of the way.

I was more focused on Thorin, though. Somehow he and Azog had ended up on the ice above the waterfall. I was so proud of Thorin! Even though Azog was twice his size, he was holding his own. He even brought down a few orcs Legolas hadn't gotten to yet for good measure. Azog disengaged and started just standing back, letting them wear Thorin out. One, however, got close enough to knock Thorin down. I dove toward them, but a chain wrapped around my ankle and brought me crashing to the ice. I watched in horror as the orc brought a spiked ax up to kill Thorin. To all of our surprise, though, a sword appeared sticking out of the orc's chest.

When Thorin caught the sword as the orc fell away, I realized what must have happened. Legolas had stolen that sword from Thorin in Mirkwood and never returned it. I guess he figured now was a good time. Thorin stood up and faced me, and suddenly looked horrified. That was when I realized I was being tugged backward by the chain around my ankle. I looked up into Azog's smugly self-satisfied face as he reached for me with his good hand. However, to do that he had to put down the chain. I kicked my foot free and applied it swiftly to his groin. He roared in pain and tried to stab me with his spike arm, only to have it parried by Thorin. I dove out of the way and watched the real fight between them get going.

Just then a horn sounded, and Azog smirked. I guess he thought he'd won when his second army crested the hill behind him. He started flinging the chain he'd used before at Thorin, but this time he used the end with a giant stone on it. I was scared when I realized it was breaking up the ice. I wanted to dive in and help Thorin, but something held me back. Maybe I should say someone, since an ethereal voice whispered in my ear, "This is a fight he must win on his own. You cannot interfere." I fought it, but I might as well have tried to lift a mountain. I wasn't going anywhere. I was positioned near the edge of the falls, so I actually had a pretty good view of Legolas and Bolg's fight, too. There were some impressive moves going on down there, but most of my attention was riveted on Thorin. Legolas finally won with nothing more than a dagger and went off to find Tauriel.

Thorin's fight wasn't going near so well. He kept falling over! Azog would fling his rock, Thorin would dodge and fall over, and it looked like just a matter of time before he got squished. The ice they were on finally broke in a rough circle around them. They were tipping back and forth, which didn't help Thorin's balance any. It's a good thing Azog had trouble too, or it would have all been over then. He had Thorin rolling about and almost had him, but Thorin was able to finally get to his feet and dodge past. He gave Azog a minor cut on the way, but I knew it wouldn't be enough to stop him. Then Thorin finally had a stroke of luck. Azog's stone got stuck in the ice, and before he could pull it free, he was distracted by the sight of giant eagles swooping in to take out his army. A giant man fell off one, and turned into a bear shortly before hitting the ground and going on a rampage. I smiled a little. It was nice of Beorn to join us.

Thorin took advantage of Azog's shock to drop his sword and grab the stone. He shoved it into Azog's arm and took a single step back that took him off the ice circle and left Azog on the other end. It tipped, and Azog couldn't correct himself in time. He slipped under the ice. Thorin was going to follow him when I screamed. I couldn't help it. I had started to slip and was heading for the edge, and I was still frozen. I was going to have words with whoever turned me into a damsel in distress, but Thorin stepping towards me saved him from getting stabbed in the foot. Azog erupted from the ice behind him, knocking him over. I was able to get one hand free and stop myself on a rock by the edge. Azog had the advantage. He stabbed his spike towards Thorin, who blocked it at the last second while lying on his back. Azog had him pinned, and was using his weight to push the spike closer to Thorin's chest.

Thorin looked over at me and gave me a bittersweet smile before pulling his sword out and letting himself be stabbed. I was expecting it not to penetrate, but it went in just fine. Thorin then reached up and stabbed Azog through the heart. He managed to twist them over and push his sword in to the hilt. Then he fell over. I felt whatever was holding me motionless release and pulled myself up and to his side. He tried to spew some romantic nonsense about being glad I was with him as he died, but I just ignored him and snapped into a healing trance. It was really bad. It had nicked his heart and his intestines. One would kill him fast and the other slow. I healed his heart and felt myself collapse. I didn't have anything more to give. I refused to give up, though. I started slowly in my mind stitching up his intestine. Once that was done, I slowly, agonizingly, erased the poison. It was a good thing I'd gotten it right away. If I'd waited until I woke up again, it would have been too late. I felt myself slipping into darkness, but it only lasted a second. The next thing I knew, I was hovering over my body and watching Thorin. He pulled himself up into a sitting position and reached toward my body. When it limply slid off of him, he totally freaked out. He started frantically checking me for a pulse or breathing. He apparently didn't find anything, because he started screaming for help and trying to breathe for me. Bilbo and Dwalin made it over first, and they both seemed to go into shock. They slumped down nearby and started crying. Tauriel, Kili, Fili, and Legolas were next. Legolas jumped in and started doing chest compressions, so I guess the elves actually knew about CPR. Kili leaned up to tell Tauriel something, and she took off down the mountain. Not too much later, she was back with Gandalf and what looked like the rest of my dwarves. I was so glad to see them all alive!

Gandalf got down next to me and tapped Legolas on the shoulder. Legolas quit with a sigh. He looked tired, which was a first. He also looked concerned. Aw, I didn't know he cared. Thranduil showed up, too, but he just hung back and tried to be unobtrusive. Gandalf tried to pry Thorin off, but had no luck until Fili and Kili came up and pulled him away. He tried to fight them off, but Dwalin and Nori joined in. He froze when he saw Gandalf put his hand over my face and start concentrating. I felt a light tug toward my body. I could totally ignore it, but I really wanted to get back to Thorin. I found myself blinking a bit. The light seemed really bright. There was a lot of noise, too. I groaned and tried to put my arm over my eyes. It didn't budge. I scowled and was reduced to blinking until I was yanked into Thorin's arms. I smiled at him, and said, "I love you, Thorin." I snuggled into the shoulder he was holding me against, and fell asleep.


	8. Epilogue

AN: Here's the last of it. Thanks to those who read it and especially to those who reviewed.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit. My characters seem to own themselves.**

It took me three weeks to wake up after that, but after I woke up and after I had chastised Thorin for beating himself up over everything, things settled down. We talked and came to an understanding. I would marry him, and he would leave the heart of the mountain alone. He was amazed when he saw the little chamber. The large stone still shimmered with light. He brought down Bofur, Bifur, and a few more stone workers to open the chamber up a bit more and make it a place of beauty instead of a hole in the ground. They left the heart of the mountain alone, but they set up a bench where people could sit and admire it. I did ask what happened to his mithril shirt and was finally able to pry out of him an amazing story of interracial cooperation. When Thranduil offered to fit me with armor, Thorin gave him the mithril shirt and all but begged him to have it put in with my armor in such a way that I wouldn't notice. Thranduil agreed, and he didn't even ask for a bribe. Things turned out ok, but I did make him squirm when I told him if it ever happened again, he'd better hope there was a wizard around to bring me back to life, because I'll never stop healing him.

Gandalf and Bilbo stayed for the wedding, which I really appreciated, especially since they had to wait until Thorin's sister Dis could get here from the Blue Mountains. They brought home the dwarves of Erebor, and it was so moving to see so many cry when they first entered the mountain. I was really glad we'd been able to neaten up the place and properly bury the dead before they came. The wedding was entirely too much of an affair of state for my taste, but it was beautiful. All the leaders of the surrounding area were there to congratulate us, although Thranduil did look a bit sour. I was just glad to have another woman to talk to. Dis helped me with my clothes and accessories, and wrapped me in a ceremonial sheet or something so that Thorin could come in and do my hair. He wove in his beads as well as one of the Durin beads we'd found. It was a beautiful day, but I was just glad that Thorin was finally all mine.

Life in Erebor settled down. Thorin put all of the Company to tasks that best suited them, except Bilbo who insisted he had to go home to the Shire. I warned him of the ring before he left. He looked ill when I told him it's darkness was worse than the darkness that drove Thorin mad and kept the land around Erebor blighted. He agreed to talk to Gandalf about it on the way home, but I figured we'd better visit soon to make sure it had gotten taken care of.

The rest of the Company stayed. Thorin and Fili spent most of their time on royal business, while Kili became a diplomat for us to the elves. He and Tauriel made a match of it within a year and wound up going back and forth between Erebor and wherever we needed them. I'd had to have a few serious conversations with Thorin to get him to loosen up about it, but in the end he decided keeping his nephew was more important than getting rid of the elf. He grew to like her in time, though it helped that they had an adorable little dwelf girl within a year of getting married.

Balin was of course Thorin's chief adviser and leader of the council, and Dwalin was Thorin's captain of the guard. Ori found the library, and Thorin put him in charge of it. It was a good thing he wasn't as shy as when we started the trip, because he had a whole staff assigned to him. They started by cleaning things up and organizing, but their next task would be copying everything down to preserve it. Bombur was put in charge of the kitchens, and worked with our suppliers among the men and elves. Oin was our resident healer and in charge of the infirmary. He also took care of all medical supplies.

Nori became the spymaster, keeping an ear on the heartbeat of Erebor. He saved us from a hostile takeover less than a year into our marriage. There had been a few who saw Erebor as still weak and put their own people in among the regular immigrants to try to take us down from within. Thanks to Nori, they failed miserably and no one tried again. He helped keep the crime rate low, too. Dori became Thorin's majordomo, who took care of keeping us civilized and helping us not insult visitors unless we meant to. Bofur and Bifur were put in charge of the mines and keeping the Heart of the Mountain stable and secure. Thorin put Gloin in charge of the treasury, which we moved to a few caverns farther down beneath the mountain. He also organized it so coins were separate from objects and sorted as to what they were made out of. Thorin was so awesome! He gave anything that looked like it came from Dale back to Bard.

Bard moved to Dale, and many of the people of Laketown went with him. One of the master's cronies tried to set himself up as Lord of Laketown, but Bard recommended one of his friends, who'd been one of the only guards with honor. With Bard's support, he took charge and threw out the malcontents. They headed for Gondor, saying they'd be back with an army. Two weeks later, we heard they'd run afoul of the spiders of Mirkwood. The elves were making progress on taking the forest back and returning its former greatness with the help of Radagast, but they hadn't gotten everything yet. It helped that part of what Gandalf had been doing while he was away from us was taking care of the necromancer in Dol Goldur. The elves had actually asked for help to take the old fortress apart stone by stone. With the influx of dwarves from the Blue Mountains, we had enough to send about a hundred dwarves to help out.

It was almost a year and a half into our marriage that I became pregnant. I figured it out when I suddenly really started craving all things cheese. I even asked Bombur to smother my meat and bread in cheese. Dis eyed me strangely, but after I developed an extreme dislike of anything with tomatoes in it, she took me aside and asked where I was on my monthly cycle. I realized I was really late, and she hustled me off to Oin. He confirmed that I was indeed pregnant. I told Thorin, but I didn't have to tell anyone else, because it had spread through the mountain like dragon fire. That night was a great feast. Thorin kept trying to feed me delicacies and staring at me dreamily.

He tried to keep me wrapped in pillows for the next nine months, but I wasn't having any of that. I felt totally fine. The only morning sickness I experienced was one day where I forgot to eat until after noon, and it went away after I grabbed lunch in the kitchen. The last month really slowed me down, though, to the point that I just started flying everywhere instead of walking. I waddled like a duck when I tried to walk. It was also in my last month of pregnancy that I learned a dark truth about dwarf society. Back in the world I came from, people would be taking bets on the gender of the baby and fretting over whether to get blue or pink clothes, but when I asked Thorin what he thought the baby would be, he said that it was almost definitely a boy. It turns out that there are at least three male dwarves to every female.

They don't talk about it much because it's just an accepted part of life, but very few dwarf men ever get married. I thought about it and realized that they were a dying race. Perhaps it wasn't so bad before Erebor fell, but there were very few dwarf women left. I had thought they'd just chosen not to move, but it turns out there weren't that many to move in the first place. I thought about it for days, and finally flew down to the chamber of the Heart of the Mountain. I sat staring into it and finally managed to connect with it. I tried calling to the Valar, and to my surprise, they came. They were still indistinct, but the brightest one stepped forward and said gently, "You succeeded in saving the line of Durin, so you wish to ask for one more gift?" "Yes," I replied. "I wish the ratio of male to females born among the dwarves wasn't so lopsided. I'd like it if every dwarf could find a partner and know the joy of children, but if that's not possible, I at least want enough girl children to be born that they can survive as a race." He looked around at the others, and they nodded one by one. He finally nodded, too, and said, "It will be done." He seemed to smile and said, "You have a very kind heart." Then I was back to the heart chamber. I smiled to myself and flew back up. The rest of the month just seemed to drag. Finally, it was time.

The baby picked a doozy of a time, too. It was the third annual celebration of taking back Erebor. The men and elves were there, with Bard and his family and Thranduil and Legolas at the high table with us. When I felt the first few pains, I thought maybe I'd had a few too many cheese puffs. It wasn't until a really sharp one that had me doubled over the table that Thorin noticed. He had me whisked off to Oin's domain before I could say ouch. Twenty hours of hard labor later, and we finally had a beautiful baby boy. Thorin came in and hugged me gently, then held him softly. We had decided on a name over a month previous, but after looking him over, Thorin got a peculiar look on his face and said, "His name is Durin." Well, if that didn't just set the cat among the canaries. There was some legend, bladdy-bladdy-blah. I ignored them and just took my baby back and held him. Whatever he'd been in a past life, he was my baby now.

And that's about caught us up with the present day. Thorin and I have been married twenty years, and we've had three children, Durin, Frerin, and Karin. Durin looked just like his dad, But Frerin and Karin took after me in coloring. They both had my golden hair, although the blue eyes could have come from either of us. Durin and Frerin were both adorable babies, but little Karin was the first one to take her daddy's heart in her hands. It's been a chore to keep him from spoiling her rotten. Durin is seventeen, Frerin is fifteen, and Karin is only ten. They're developing at a dwarven rate, though, so they're all still pretty little. They're big enough to travel, though. We haven't heard from Bilbo in awhile, so we're going to go see him. I'm still worried about that ring. The tale of our adventure is done, though, as well as the addendum, so if anything's going on with him, that will be another story.


End file.
